One Final Dodge Challenger Hellcat with Gobs of Power Seems Likely
Dodge Challenger Hellcat final edition should deliver more power than the Demon.
There have been a ton of rumors floating around the internet lately pertaining to the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, which is expected to be discontinued within the next two years when the next generation of the model is introduced. Sadly, it seems that Dodge will transition towards electrification, which will likely lead to some impressive performance EVs, but that comes with the end of the mighty Hellcat models.
Fortunately, the internet rumors and unofficial reports claim that Dodge is working on one final Hellcat model with more power than any version before it and likely more power than any American production car ever. The rumors state that Dodge is working with E85 rather than gasoline, which would allow them to run more boost and with more boost comes more power. More recently, a few of my connections in the industry – who have always been right with their early information in the past – told me that the 3.0-liter supercharger from the Hellephant crate engine will likely be utilized. The current Redeye models and the 2018 Demon use a 2.7-liter supercharger, so the 3.0-liter blower would lead to obvious increases in power, but are these reports legitimate? Is there really another Dodge super muscle car in the works?
Based on what I have been told off the record, there is such a car in the works, but based on the state of the industry, I am concerned that what should be the greatest American muscle car of all time will be delayed into oblivion.
Production Constraints and Delays
If you pay any attention to the automotive industry, you know that it has been plagued with production issues over the past few years. The semiconductor shortage has led to delays for pretty much every automaker, but the problem impacts the industry at so many levels, the shortage has had a domino effect, causing more production issues in areas which may not even directly rely on those microchips.
All of the component shortages have led to unplanned production downtime and, in some cases, companies are building incomplete vehicles and storing them until the microchip-dependent items come available. Worse yet, this has delayed many new vehicle orders across every major brand, leaving customers waiting up to a year for their new car, truck or SUV.
In the middle of the generation of a vehicle, these types of production delays wouldn’t matter. Had this microchip shortage happened in 2017, we wouldn’t have worried too much, as the company could have just built more cars the following year. However, if 2023 is the end of this generation of the Dodge Challenger, there won’t be a next year for these cars to be built.
In other words, if Dodge can’t get all of the components needed to build these super powerful final run Challengers within the 2023 production run – which will begin in the next few months and end around this time next year – they may not be able to build as many of these cars as they would like.
Looming EPA Issues
The bigger concern for seeing a final run Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat with upwards of 900 horsepower is emission laws. In the areas with the toughest emission laws (California), there have been reports of stock 2018 Demon owners struggling to pass those annual tests. If those cars won’t pass emission testing with just over 800 horsepower, it seems unlikely that Dodge could have a similar car with 900-ish horsepower that would pass. Some folks have suggested that the E85 would help the engine run more cleanly, so perhaps E85 is the key to more power while still passing emission tests around the country.
The Direct Connection kits are a good example of why the EPA gives us cause for concern here. They were supposed to begin reaching dealerships and customers a few months ago, but issues getting the parts approved for emission certification has slowed the process way down. The same type of issues that are slowing down the rollout process of the Direct Connection kits could impact the rollout of this rumored super muscle car and if this is the final year for the current generation Challenger – a lengthy delay could prevent the model from happening at all.
The bottom line here is that our contacts within the automaker and elsewhere in the industry have indicated that Dodge is working on one final super muscle car, but all of our contacts are also concerned that the component-based production constraints and emission certification issues could lead to delays that negatively impact the plan to rollout the next legendary American muscle car.
Photos: Stellantis
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