Dodge Challenger Redeye Drags Rare BMW M8 Gran Coupe; Someone Gets Battered and Bruised

Atlanta Dragway was a dragstrip facility located in Banks County, Georgia, just north of Commerce, Georgia that was established in 1981 – and the main event taking place there from start to finish was NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, Southern Nationals.

Unfortunately, today, there's no more Atlanta Dragway – the drag racing facility, along with its signature blue-striped lanes, was closed down at the end of the 2021 racing season. However, somehow, somewhere, the videographer found some footage taken there that is still relevant – at least for a little while longer.

This is because it features a blue Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye as the star of the burnout and drag racing show – the L-bodied Charger sedan and Challenger coupe have been retired from production at the end of 2023, but you can still find examples in Dodge's inventory if you scout the nation's dealerships.

The first 'America vs. Import' foe is a rare BMW M8 of the Gran Coupe variety – the F93 four-door sedan version of the M8, in turn, the high-performance version of the 8 Series grand tourer. The last time we heard something about the big GT, it seems the model that replaced the 6 Series and M6 will, in turn, get replaced by a returning 6 Series and M6!

That's quirky, right? But this is also BMW; quirkiness is its new middle name since not long ago when it started churning out wacky designs like the M2, M3, M4, 7 Series, i7, X7 LCI, or the mighty XM. Also last but not least, there's an old-school Audi A8 at the end of the quick 1:38-minute footage. But let's start with the beginning, shall we?

So, the focus is on a spectacular dark-blue (with yellow touches and black wheels) Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye, a true American muscle car pushing out 797 horsepower via its supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V8. True to its exhibitionist nature, this Mopar isn't shying away from massive pre-race burnouts. In the other lane sits a decidedly rare burgundy-shaded BMW M8 Gran Coupe, which matches even the alloy wheel's touches according to the body color.

They look ready to duke it out without any intention of taking prisoners, and while the M8 with its 4.4-liter S63 twin-turbo V8 has a clear deficit of power compared to the Redeye, let us not forget that BMW grossly underestimates the actual power levels of its engines and the M8 is also equipped with AWD. The launch is pretty much head-to-head, and for the better part of the race, we're left wondering who won – it was the 11.07s Hellcat while the BMW was 'close, but not close enough' at 11.23s.

Also, note that this is 11-second bracket racing, as per the electronic scoreboard. Secondly, another BMW – this time an M5 – comes along to try and teach this American rascal a quarter-mile lesson. It's easier said than done because this Hellcat Redeye (unlike many other Mopars) launches like it's on rails and nails the second victory via a perfect 11-second pass! It can't top that, so the big Audi A8 thinks it has a fighting chance. Nope, not at all (11.21s versus Mopar's 11.11s)!