Scat Pack 1320: Track-ready, Super-techy, Budget-friendly

By Derin Richardson - March 26, 2019

2019 Hellcat Redeye

Hellcat Redye: Pavement-pounding Terror

The other half of the drive event was easily the best, and probably most challenging, part of the whole experience. The 2019 SRT Challenger Hellcat Redeye boasts 797 HP and 707 lbs.-ft. of torque, and is still the most powerful street-legal road car in existence today. Not sure exactly how much gets transferred to the wheels but trust me, we put ALL of those horses on the ground going up to Crystal Lake in the San Gabriel Mountains.

It is essentially a Demon with a different tune and slightly more restrictive aero. And ironically, none of that raw power makes the ride feel uncomfortable or languished. Quite the opposite, in fact. Thanks to the active damping suspension and electronic body roll mitigation, the car feels more like a family cruiser than a street bruiser. That is, until you punch it and turn it into a demon kitty land missile. Pair that with with soft Laguna leather seats and suede touchpoints and you’ve almost got a luxury car on your hands.

Supreme Handling

With a curb weight of 4,415 pounds, you’d think this car would be nightmare to power through corners, but you’d be very, very wrong. Going back to the electronic body roll mitigation tech and active damping, this widebody savage exercises the finesse and grace of a house cat wrapping around a corner in your house. Now, I’m generally not a huge fan of Pirellis but I think the wide 305s all the way around the car add enough grip to subside my lust for the Michelin Pilot 4S’ on every car I drive.

As far as stopping power goes, the Hellcat Redeye uses the same six-piston Brembos in the front as the regular Hellcats. And yes, they still clamp down on the rotors like angry crabs.

TorqueFlite Transmission

It’s the same eight-speed in the regular Hellcats, same final drive ratio options and same paddle shifters, so no surprises there. This one comes with a 2.62 rear end, but let me tell you that this car is most certainly no slouch when it comes to torque. When you throw this thing in track, that low-end becomes incredibly pronounced at lower RPMs and the shifts are super hard. But of course, since the final drive ratio is higher, the car wants to stay at the higher end of the power band and unleash all that neck-breaking top-end power. In street mode, the ride becomes a lot smoother but the power is no less humbling.

2019 Hellcat Redeye

Supercharged Mayhem

With all this talk about putting power down onto the ground, we need to talk about this blower for a minute. Yes, it’s the same blower on the Hellcat and the Demon, but it’s worth noting that I cannot ever get tired of hearing that glorious wail of the blades forcing air down into the intake. It’s so pronounced, so voluminous and even sounds orchestral, for what it’s worth. The giant open air filter is probably also largely responsible for the increased noise.

Granted, everything about the Hellcat Redeye is attention-grabbing at first sight but once you hear that demonic wail from around a bend or down the street, you know something wicked is coming your way. Surprisingly, despite all the hard driving and cornering we did, we only used just under half a tank. And that includes the eight-mile drive to Crystal Lake itself. In fact, even the Scat Pack 1320 Challengers held up pretty well on gasoline despite being punished on the drag strip over and over again.

Overall, this year’s Spring Festival of LX was a blast and we at DodgeForum we’re very grateful for the chance to attend. Check out these photos from the Pomona Fairgrounds!