The 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat is the Most Powerful American Car - Ever

Since the new 6.2L Hellcat supercharged Hemi was introduced a few months back, we have speculated heavily as to what kind of power it would produce under the hood of the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT. The estimates over the past year have generally put the numbers in the range of 600-650, but we expected that the company would have the Challenger Hellcat making less power than the mighty SRT Viper that has 640 horsepower. Based on that, I expected that the Hellcat would make around 625 horsepower. I was wrong. Way wrong…and I don’t know that I’ve ever been more excited to be so wrong.

The 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat isn’t just another muscle car – it is now THE muscle car.

The Dodge Challenger is the Most Powerful American Car Ever
In the world of high performance cars, few vehicles are more well known around the world for featuring pure, brute horsepower than American muscle cars so it is a pretty proud title for the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat to officially be the most powerful muscle car of all time. Previously, the most powerful American muscle car was the current Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang with 662 horsepower and 631lb-ft of torque – which the Hellcat Challenger crushes. Even among the monster big blocks that were used in the American muscle cars of the 1960s and 1970s that were unmolested by emission regulations, none of them offered anywhere close to 707 horsepower… and I’m talking about the real world numbers and not the official numbers that were known to be vastly underrated.

Gallery of 2015 Dodge Challenger
The 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat
The 2015 Dodge Challenger SXT in the wild
Comparison gallery between the 2013 and 2015 Dodge Challenger
The 2015 Dodge Challenger 392 Hemi Scat Pack Shaker

In addition to being the most powerful American muscle car of all time, the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is also the most powerful American production car of all time – knocking off the SRT Viper that is currently in showrooms now with “only” 640 horsepower and 600lb-ft of torque. Also, the Hellcat is most powerful American V8 ever, beating the LT4 of the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, which packs 650 horsepower and 650lb-ft of torque, by a pretty hefty margin.

The Challenger is Among the World’s Best Supercars
With 707 horsepower, the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat ranks 6th in the world among production cars, trailing only LaFerrari, the McLaren P1, the Porsche 918, the Lamborghini Veneno and the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta – a group of cars which range in price from $319,000 to $4,000,000. Also, with 650lb-ft of torque, the Challenger Hellcat has more twisting power than all of those supercars except for LaFerrari and the McLaren P1. The Challenger SRT Hellcat is more powerful in terms of both horsepower and torque than the Lamborghini Aventador…a car which costs almost $400,000. I have included the top 11 most powerful cars in the world right now, going with 11 rather than 10 so that I can include the SRT Viper for reference.

Of course, I should point out that the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is heavier than any of the cars on the list below, but with such awe-inspiring power outputs 2015 Challenger owners will be able to at least give someone in a new Lamborghini a good race…if not beat the raging bull.

The Most Powerful New Cars in the World Today
1. LaFerrari – 950hp, 664tq, $1,400,000
2. McLaren P1– 903hp, 664tq, $1,150,000
3. Porsche 918 – 795hp, 575tq, $845,000
4. Lamborghini Veneno – 740hp, 590tq, $4,000,000
5. Ferrari F12 Berlinetta – 730hp, 508tq, $319,000
6. Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat – 707hp, 650tq, Price Unavailable
7. Lamborghini Aventador – 690hp, 507tq, $397,500
8. Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang – 662hp, 631tq, $55,110
9. Ferrari FF – 651hp, 504tq $295,000
10. Chevrolet Corvette Z06 – 650hp, 650tq, Estimated around $125,000
11. SRT Viper – 640hp, 600tq, $102,485

In introducing the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat with 707 horsepower and 650lb-ft of torque, the Chrysler Group is showing that they might not have the bestselling muscle car in America, but they are very capable of making the most powerful muscle car. More so, it will be difficult for General Motors or Ford Motor Company to come up with a street legal engine that will beat the Hellcat so maybe – just maybe – this monster Hemi will serve as the most powerful muscle car engine of all time.

The 2016 Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang and the next generation Chevrolet Camaro are expected to arrive within the next couple years so both of the other Detroit automakers have a chance to reclaim the title of having the most powerful sports car on the market…but with 707 horsepower, it will be a daunting task to knock off the Hellcat. Of course, the 650 horsepower, lightweight Corvette Z06 could challenge the Hellcat and you can read more about that by clicking here.