Mosh in a Dodge Hellcat

Anthrax’s Scott Ian Switches Practical Ride for a ‘Pure Beast’: The Hellcat

Legendary Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian recently took to his Facebook page to share a photo of himself driving a 2017 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. Next to him is a black-and-white police cruiser with its lights flashing. Ian captioned the pic, “Racing for pinks. Thanks, officer!” The musician is, of course, referring to a street-racing tradition, where the winner takes the loser’s car, along with its pink registration slip. This is a Hellcat we’re talking about here! Sounds like the cop’s going to be walking home.

The Charger is a departure for the Anthrax axeman: When it comes to cars, he makes practical decisions. In 2013, he was interviewed by Motor Trend for their “Celebrity Drive” feature, in which he professed his love for his car at the time: a Lexus RX 350. “I have enough to think about — I just don’t ever want to have to think about my car,” he said at the time.

Ian’s only other vehicular nod to the rock n’ roll lifestyle came in the 1990s, when he bought a GMC Typhoon, a high-performance version of the GMC Jimmy truck. “When you stepped on the gas, it would throw you back in your seat,” he told Motor Trend. The Typhoon was easy to drive fast — so easy, in fact, that he got three speeding tickets in 18 months. He ended up trading it in for a regular GMC Jimmy.

‘I have enough to think about —
I just don’t ever want to have to think about my car.’

Still, the New Yorker looks to be enjoying the muscle-car life: He recently posted a picture of his bright crimson Hellcat car key on Instagram, and captioned it, “THE RED KEY. What mysteries does it unlock?” He also used the hashtag #707hp, referring to the awesome amount of horsepower the Charger boasts. (His other favorite hashtag seems to be #ThatsMyDodge.) Fans went crazy over Ian’s dope new ride, with one Instagram commenter calling it “a pure beast.”

Last holiday season, a Dodge Durango featured in several shots on Ian’s Instagram feed, showing that while he might occasionally feel the need for speed, this heavy metal mosher is still a practical guy at heart. Cops in the Los Angeles area, however, still might want to hang on tight to their registration slips.