Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is the baddest black cat on the block, and the toughest sport sedan on the market.
October 27 was National Black Cat Day and October 29 is National Cat Dayand to celebrate these two relatively little-known holidays, the folks at Dodge put together a video of one of their black cats raising a little hell on Instagram. You may not have been aware of these feline-based holidays and there is a good chance that no other automakers did anything to recognize those two days, but that is because other automakers don’t have the Hellcat. However, when you have a couple of badass “cats” like the supercharged Charger and Challenger, you want to constantly remind the world of these high horsepower juggernauts on holidays that simply don’t apply to your competition.
Dodge Cat on the Loose
In the video above, which was initially introduced to celebrate National Black Cat Day, we watch as a 2018 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat blasts along a twisty road. As the turns get sharper, the driver hits them more aggressively, leading to more impressive drifts and a whole lot of tire smoke.
During the tire slaying fun, we get a few shots of an actual black cat strolling along the road and when the Hellcat Charger is flexing its muscles, the whine of the IHI supercharger is mixed with angry growling cat sounds. Realistically, those “cat sounds” likely came from a lion or something other than a black domestic short hair, but big cats are still cats and the Hellcat Charger is the biggest cat on the street.
Humorous Subtitles
Like many automakers, Dodge understands that some fans of the brand might be hearing impaired, so like most of their videos, the one above has subtitles. However, there are no spoken words in the clip, so the subtitles describe the sounds being made. The first is “supercharger whine in engine revving”, followed by “growling cat noises”, “glitch sound”, “low growl sound”, “braking sound” and one more “glitch sound”.
While we can imagine that the hearing impaired can make sense of the sounds made by cats or the sounds made by tires as a car brakes hard, we have to wonder if the supercharger whine makes any sense, but in the end, those subtitles serve as a humorous addition that makes the clip more enjoyable for everyone.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
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