Watch as a pair of Mopar titans clash on a highway in Mexico.
The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is the quickest, fastest and most powerful 4-door sedan in the world with a supercharged Hemi delivering 707 horsepower and 650lb-ft of torque. The Dodge Viper ACR is the most track-capable American production car ever with an 8.4L V10 providing 645 horsepower and 600lb-ft of torque. The Hellcat Charger has a significant advantage in both horsepower and torque, but the Viper has a massive weight advantage, tipping the scales at just 3,374lbs (not including the driver) while the Hellcat Charger weighs a hefty 4,575lbs.
What happens when these two monster Mopar performance cars go head to head in a 50mph highway roll race? Fortunately, the owners of a new 2017 Viper Snakeskin Edition ACR and a 2016 Hellcat Charger met up on a desolate highway in Mexico to find out.
I happen to know the owners of both of these cars, and I know that the owner of the Snakeskin Edition Viper ACR just took delivery of it, so it is stock (for now) while the Hellcat Charger has been lightly modified by removing the mid-muffler and adding two babyseats (no kids were present for this run). Finally, both vehicles had a driver and passenger so in short, both cars are making around stock power while carrying a little extra weight than what is stated above.
The Hellcat Charger and the Snakeskin Edition Viper ACR lined up while rolling down the highway at 50mph when the Viper driver counts them down from 3. At first, the Viper hops out to a short lead, but it only takes the Charger a few seconds to pull ahead and to begin pulling away. With the race lost, the Viper owner lets off and the video ends with the Charger well out ahead, but in speaking with the Viper owner, he has promised that the car will be modified and there will be a rematch between these two high performance Mopars.
The owner of the Charger has planned some modifications as well, so the next race between this Hellcat sedan and the limited edition Viper ACR could be a great one.
"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.
