Six Challenger Hellcats Gone in 60 Seconds Thanks to Crafty Thieves

By Brett Foote - March 4, 2023

Like something out of a movie, these well-organized criminals managed to slip away in six Challenger Hellcats before police could arrive.

While automotive theft has been a thing since, well, the advent of the automobile, thieves have been forced to be a bit more resourceful in recent years thanks to the prevalence of cameras and anti-theft technology. Regardless, they always find a way to adapt and overcome, even hitting up dealerships and making off with multiple vehicles at a time. This was precisely the case at Don Franklin Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Somerset, Kentucky recently when thieves managed to steal a grand total of six new Dodge Challenger Hellcats in a mere 60 seconds or so, according to WKYT News.

Like something out of a movie, the thieves descended upon the dealership at around 2am and proceeded to make off with four Challenger Hellcats that were parked inside the showroom, which conveniently had the keys inside them already. They then snagged keys for two more Hellcats located outside in the parking lot, and what’s believed to be a group of seven individuals managed to make their getaway in mere seconds, long before the police were able to respond.

“Really just heartbreaking. It’s $600,000 worth of cars gone. You know, that’s a lot of money. A pretty big deal,” said Adam Bryant, the manager at the dealership. “They came in through the rear garage door. They had some kind of idea of how our security system worked it looked like. Once they tripped the alarm, it takes 60 seconds before it starts alerting. They were gone 20 seconds before the alarm started to go off. The response time of the police was like three minutes. It was really good.”

On the bright side, five of the stolen Challenger Hellcats have already been recovered, at least one of which because it apparently ran out of gas, while another is sadly damaged beyond repair. As for the sixth vehicle, well, authorities haven’t located it yet, but thanks to modern technology, they have a general idea of where it might be.

“We have an idea of where the last one is,” Bryant said. “It looks like they damaged the GPS on it, but it’s picking up and seems like it’s in Alabama. We’ve been working with law enforcement there and they’ve been helping us track it. But that’s really all you can do. You’ve just got to go on with business.”