Unconventional Track Battle Pits Redeye vs. Lamborghini Urus
Motor Trend ventures to find out if the Hellcat Redeye outrun the Lambo SUV around WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Some may describe this as a David vs. Goliath battle, however, in this case which one is considered Goliath? Looking at the contest through the lens of the price tag and premium badge then the Lambo clearly plays the role of the giant. However, looking at raw power, presence and sheer attitude, then the Hellcat Redeye can be looked at as the favorite. Perhaps this would be more appropriately labelled a battle of Goliath vs. Goliath?
Whatever you call it, the good folks at Motor Trend took a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye and a Lamborghini Urus to legendary WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca to see which would come out on top. A Dodge and a Lamborghini have done battle before, but this is a whole different sort of track.
The monster Dodge is certainly no stranger to us. The widebody kit wearing muscle car churns out 797 horsepower and 707 lb-ft of torque from its supercharged V8. It can sprint to 60 mph in about 3.8 seconds. All while sounding nasty and looking mean. The Lambo is the SUV that acts like a sports car. It borrows heavily from the VW Auto Group parts bin, cherry picking the best from Porsche, Bentley and Audi. The result of which gets this 4.0L twin turbo V8 sport utility to 60 mph in 3 seconds flat. It does so with “only” 641 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque, but its launch is aided by a sophisticated torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system.
As impressive as the raw numbers for these vehicles are, neither are designed to be hustled around a racetrack. This is mainly due to a couple other impressive numbers, which are the curb weights. The Dodge pushes nearly 4,500 pounds and the Lambo is another 400 pounds on top of that. Not exactly what you want in a track car. And let’s be honest, no one is going to be driving their $250,000 Lamborghini SUV around a circuit. It is most likely going to be used to drop the kids off at private school on the days when a wet leaf might be on the ground. But if you just had to drive one of these around a road course which would get around first?
Randy Pobst was tasked with getting the best lap time out of each of these vehicles, for purely scientific reasons of course. The Lambo ended up taking the prize on this day. It turned in a 1:40.90 lap, although Pobst didn’t enjoy it all that much around Laguna Seca as the SUV just seemed overwhelmed by its own weight while trying to hustle around the track. The Dodge managed a 1:42.70 lap. While that is nearly 2 seconds of the pace, it was by far the more enjoyable car to toss around the track.
You can’t help but notice the big grin on Pobst’s face as he talks about the Dodge. At the end of the day, that is what the Hellcat Redeye is all about. Putting big goofy grins on your face, as well as on the face of everyone that sees and hears you drive by. And let’s put that track time in perspective. Even though it lost to the Lambo it turned nearly the same lap time as the previous generation Porsche 911 Turbo.
The big Dodge acquitted itself quite well on the road course, as it turns out, and it proves to be much more than a one trick pony. Sure it can do all the things we love about a modern muscle car with this kind of power. On top of that you can take it to a track that is longer than 1,320 feet, throw it into the corners, and have an absolute riot.
Photos: Motor Trend
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