The videographer behind the Wheels channel on YouTube is a big fan of Canada's Mission Raceway Park, also known as MRP or 'Thunder by the River' – there, he finds some of the coolest rides, from McLaren Artura hybrid mid-engine supercars to America's Big Detroit Three muscle cars.
Actually, one of the latter is slowly materializing an amazing switch from pony and muscle cars to sports cars only – General Motors ordered Chevrolet to cease production of the sixth generation Chevy Camaro in December 2023, and now only the C8 Corvette remains a staple of the lineup. The same happened with Stellantis and Dodge's L-bodied Charger sedan and Challenger coupe, which are also defunct or maybe enjoying a well-deserved stint across the car Valhalla's Hall of Fame.
No worries, though, as some warriors never surrender. For example, the latest feature from the channel focuses on the battle between GM and Mopar rides with the C8 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and both the Challenger and Charger at the forefront. Initially, a black C8 meets up for the first brawl with an equally black Dodge Challenger Hemi, and the battle is settled from the very first moment when the Corvette takes off like a pro to gain an early lead.
It doesn't abandon it until the end of the race, and the difference between them is quite obvious: 11.89s versus 13.65s. The second skirmish is more colorful – a gray Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat meets with a black and crimson C8 Corvette (even the interior is red, by the way). This is going to be a much tougher battle, and clearly, both drivers brought their 'A' game to the dragstrip. However, only one of them performed a flawless launch – it was the Charger, not the Stingray!
In fact, the C8 Chevy Corvette almost lost control around half-length of the course, and the driver opted to go easy on the throttle – we didn't get the full results thus. However, the roaring Charger was ready for anything and dropped an 11.54s pass at over 122 mph. Well, it's going to be interesting in the future – Chevrolet is bringing out later this month (July 25) the most powerful Corvette ever, as the 2025 ZR1 is said to come with more than 800 horsepower and a twin-turbo V8 powertrain. After that, if we are to believe the rumor mill, a hybrid Zora will follow with around 1,000 hp to break into hypercar territory.
As for the fate of the Charger, Dodge has sealed it with the eighth generation, which rides on new underpinnings – STLA Large. The platform allows for both ICE and EV setups, and the Daytona models will feature up to 670 hp of electron-eating ponies, while the new Sixpack variants feature the 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six twin-turbo mill. Also, the Dodge Charger will be sold both with the modern four-door sedan body style as well as the classic two-door fastback coupe option.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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