Remember the Challenger Hellcat; Dodge's hyper-muscle car which produced a barely believable 707hp from its supercharged 6.2-litre V8? If you do, then you'll likely recall that it was usurped last year by the Challenger Demon - a drag strip focussed edition capable of 0-60 in 2.3 seconds and a 9.65-second quarter-mile, thanks to a 90kg reduction in weight and a 133hp increase in power.
That car was limited to just 3,300 examples, but now Dodge has used the uprated parts developed for the Demon to create this, the Challenger Hellcat Redeye. It uses the standard Hellcat as a base, before bolting on a long list of Demon parts including its 2.7-litre supercharger (over the standard 2.4-litre unit), twin dual-stage fuel pumps, and strengthened pistons, connecting rods and prop shafts. It also receives the Demon's 6,500 rpm redline (a 300rpm increase) and a lot of the electronics which made its incredible launch possible, including its Launch Control and Launch Assist.
It does miss out on the Demon's 18-inch wheels, special drag radial tyres and uprated brakes, though, and comes only with an eight-speed automatic transmission where the standard Hellcat can be bought with three pedals. But no matter, because thanks to the modifications it has received the Hellcat Redeye produces 797hp and 707lb ft of torque - see what they did there - enough to propel it to 60mph in 3.4 seconds and on to 203mph, two tenths and four miles per hour quicker than the standard car.
Available in regular or 'Widebody' guise (with wider tyres and flared arches), the Redeye will be sold alongside the standard Hellcat with no limit on production. There's no word on pricing yet, but it's expected to start at around $70,000 - $16,000 less than the Demon and around $7,500 more than a standard Hellcat. It won't be sold in the UK - not officially, anyway - but that hasn't stopped the previous iterations from making an appearance in the PH Classifieds. One thousand PH Points to the first person who brings one to a Sunday Service...
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