Is the Challenger Hellcat the Grand Exit of the Muscle Car Era?
Automotive industry is quickly going all-electric, that is leaving the Challenger Hellcat as possibly the last great muscle car.
The African Forest Elephant, the Black Rhino, and the muscle car. All share a common trait. They are all critically endangered. Hopefully the elephant and the rhino can be saved, but things look pretty bleak for the traditional muscle car. Sure, there will likely be EV versions of a muscle car in the future. And that is great and all, but let’s be honest, it will not be the same. A proper muscle car should be simple. Take an American coupe or sedan. Stuff a big V8 motor under the hood. Send all the power to the rear wheels. The Dodge Challenger Hellcat does exactly that. And as it stands, it might go down in history as the last great muscle car.
A video was recently dropped on the AutoTrader YouTube channel that addressed this exact point. The question being asked is can we consider the Dodge Challenger Hellcat as the last great muscle car? At Dodge Forum we would confidently vote YES. It won’t set the fastest lap time. It is not the lightest, or most economical. But it looks mean. It sounds insane. It makes crazy power that you can barely use on the street or the track. The car is a burnout machine. It will drift its way into your heart just like a muscle car should.
No Competition
Quick, make a list of current muscle cars. Some people will say the Ford Mustang or the Chevy Camaro. But they don’t really fit the classic muscle car mold. There is nothing from Europe that fits the bill either. If you want a good old fashioned muscle car in the classic sense, then you must buy a Dodge. If you don’t like the Challenger, then go for the Charger if you want. Or if the Hellcat is too much for you, there is nothing wrong with the R/T Scat Pack. These Dodge muscle cars are all that is left.
The Future
Dodge recently teased the Charger Daytona EV. It looks great. It looks like a muscle car should look. And it promises to be very quick. Very likely quicker than the muscle cars Dodge sells today. It even has a device that promises to make exciting noises with a unique ‘exhaust system’ called the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust. That is all to the good. But no matter how fast it is or whatever fake noises it makes, an EV just can’t ever be a muscle car. At least not in the same way that many of us grew up to love them.
The End
If you have been on the fence about buying a Dodge Challenger Hellcat don’t wait much longer. Now is the time to act. You will have the rest of your life to buy an EV. They will be made for decades to come. And they will likely get better and better every year. But the classic V8-powered muscle car is on the way out. It was also improved over the course of decades, and now we have the last great muscle car for maybe another year. Don’t let the opportunity pass you by.
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