Even when the Charger spins the tires, the supercharged sedan has no problem taking out the legendary Camaro.
The 2019 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is the most powerful Chevy muscle car ever and the 2019 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is the most powerful sedan in the world. In the video above from the Slowcatt 707 YouTube channel, these two supercharged American beasts go head-to-head in a few highway roll races, but it is barely a competition. The four-door sedan makes short work of the Camaro on every run, even when the Hellcat has traction troubles at the start of the race.
The Competitors
The video begins with some random footage of new Camaro ZL1s lined up in a parking lot, followed by a preview of the racers.
Our hero in the video is a stock 2019 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, offering 707 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, with an 8-speed automatic transmission and a curb weight of 4,575 pounds. The villain in the video is a 2019 Camaro ZL1, packing 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, with a 6-speed manual transmission and a curb weight of 4,113 pounds.
The Charger is considerably heavier and has the same rated torque figures, but the Hellcat has 57 more horsepower. Will that horsepower advantage make up for the 462-pound weight advantage of the Chevy?
Since we are featuring this on DodgeForum, you likely know the answer to that question. Unfortunately, the passenger in the Chevy has a camera phone that captured very poor quality video, so we don’t get many good looks at the Charger, but we see plenty of the ZL1 disappearing behind the Mopar sedan.
Going Toe-to-Toe
On the first head-to-head run between the Hellcat Charger and the Camaro ZL1, the Chevy jumps out to an early lead and nearly gets out of camera view, but the big Dodge quickly closes the gap. With each shift of the Camaro’s manual transmission, the Hellcat pulls away in big chunks, but even when both cars are pulling hard in gear, the Dodge is pulling harder.
On the second run, the Camaro driver shifts right after the start of the race, at which point the Charger begins to hand out a brutal beating. The driver of the Chevy lost the race in this one.
Finally, on the third run, the Charger has traction problems at the start, allowing the ZL1 to get a healthy early lead, but as soon as the Hellcat got ahold of the pavement, it came storming back around the Camaro for another win.
"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.
