The 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat 

Dodge And SRT's Answer To The 2016 Ford Shelby GT350R And The 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28


 

     Hello viewers. On the last article I wrote about the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28. And before that I wrote about the 2016 Ford Shelby GT350R. Now it's the Dodge and SRT fans' turn with the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. Let's learn about this car now.

     The 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is a muscle car and sports car equipped with a naturally aspirated 6.4 liter V-8 HEMI engine that delivers a powerful 707 hp and a top speed of 199mph all the way to 202mph. Naught to sixty takes 3.6 seconds making it get to sixty faster than the Camaro but point one of a second slower than the Shelby Mustang. However knowing my Hellcat fans that wont matter much if at all to them. The Hellcat comes with rear-wheel drive. The engine is coupled to an 8-speed automatic gearbox with flappy paddles. While this might tick off some Hellcat fans, most will probably be willing to let it slide due to the Hellcat's looks and performance. The Hellcat's maximum RPM is unknown to me currently.

     Compared to a regular Dodge Challenger, the Hellcat's inner driving light on the left front was removed to let air get into the engine with more ease to provide more torque. The wheel wells have been changed from the regular Challenger to support the new 20-inch aluminum wheels.
     Now here is something that doesn't make sense to me at all. The Hellcat use two key fobs. The "black" key fob limits the engine output to 500 hp. The "red" key fob allows the Hellcat to use all of it's horsepower. Perhaps this is to comply with emissions laws and safety regulations, but I'm not completely sure. When MotorTrend tested the Hellcat it did a figure-eight in 24.7 seconds which is very impressive.  
     The price of a 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is $66,365 if I'm correct. Sounds like a good price, and great value for the money.

The 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28

Chevrolet's Answer To The Ford Shelby GT350R

 

     Recently I wrote an article on the Ford Shelby GT350R, and now it's the Chevy fans' turn to have a car written about for them. The Chevy I'll be writing about is the GT350R's rival from MotorTrend's Head 2 Head show, the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28. Let's learn some more about this awesome addition to the Camaro family.

     The 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 is a sports car equipped with a 7 liter naturally aspirated (Yes you heard right.) V-8 that delivers 505 hp and an estimated top speed of 180 mph. Naught to sixty takes an estimated 3.8 seconds which is basically old supercar speed. The engine is coupled to (You heard right again.) a Tremec TR6060 manual with a stick. Because of these parts and performance numbers the 2014 Camaro Z/28 has a strong fan base, and has formed heated rivalries with Ford's Shelby GT350R, and the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.  To solve once and for all which of the three is the best I think MotorTrend should have three racing experts race the three cars against each other at either Mazda Laguna Seca or Willow Springs to determine the best car. Let's move on now.

     Compared the original Camaro, the 2014 Z/28 features a complete aerodynamics package that reduces downforce at high speed. The package contains a large splitter in the front, extended rocker panels, and fender flares that are over the front and rear wheels. At the rear of the car is a mean looking spoiler and a fully functional diffuser. Due to thinning the window and getting rid of both the HID headlights and fog lights the 2014 Z/28 is 300 pounds lighter then the current ZL1 at the time and 100 pounds lighter than the current Camaro SS model at the time.

     As for the interior of the 2014 Z/28 the seats have been replaced with Recaro seats with microfiber suede inserts. Air conditioning has been removed and comes as a stand alone option, and the audio system has only one speaker now. For $1,150 customers can add A/C and up to six speakers. Not bad. Plus the gauges are meant to reflect older Chevrolet Camaros and look as retro as possible. 

     The price of the 2014 Z/28 is $75,000 plus a $995 destination tax. However tax, license, title, and dealer fees are excluded. Only five colors exist for the 2014 Z/28. They are Black, Red Hot, Silver Ice Metallic, Ashen Grey Metallic, and Summit White. While I'm more of a Ford Mustang fan I will admit that the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 is a seriously cool car with serious performance.