The great Dodge Challenger is no more – Stellantis has vowed to bring out only the eighth generation Charger with a classic two-door fastback coupe body style and the four-door sedan format. But do we weep when the world is still full of Mopar action?
Just like GM ordered Chevrolet to end production of the sixth generation Camaro in December 2023, Stellantis also ordained for Dodge to cease manufacturing of the L-bodied Charger and Challenger models. No worries, though, as the company sold enough of them, so we can rest assured we'll see them for a while longer, especially the proud Hellcat versions.
Both at the local quarter-mile dragstrip and the nation's superspeedways, as it turns out. For example, the good folks over at the racing-focused ImportRace channel on YouTube are not at their usual venue - Island Dragway in Great Meadows, New Jersey. Instead, they're still hunting for high-speed action in a different location.
That would be 'The Tricky Triangle,' as Pocono Raceway is known among fans – a legendary track is nestled in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, which gets the big crowds for the three NASCAR National Series races and an ARCA Menards Series event during the summer. But the rest of the year is equally restless – for example, RaceMotive has an entire season's worth of roll racing events at Pocono Raceway, mostly in the MPH Exhibition Open Run format. The initial 65 MPH Roll Race event, though, is a 1/3-mile (1,760-foot) roll-racing SxS Shootout – and it attracts quite a participation.
More precisely, the host of the channel has focused on quite a bit of highlights already, including a 600-hp McLaren 570S, an 870-hp tuned S550 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, as well as a twin party of 1,100 and 1,200-hp Corvette Z06s! After a feisty white-and-black Cadillac CTS-V took the prime time, now it's time for another horsepower extravaganza brought alongside a turbocharged – not supercharged – Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.
According to the channel's description, the widebody Mopar first met up with an America versus Import foe, a 630-hp Nissan GT-R. To properly put things into perspective, the JDM-style rival couldn't rival America's prowess, and the R35 owner had to admit defeat – from a large distance, given the 158 versus 123 mph top speeds. However, a 1,000-horsepower Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 came along, and the skirmish was closer than anyone would have imagined: 159.51 mph for the winner and 158.57 mph for the runner-up.
Sadly, for Mopar fans, the Hellcat was the latter, not the former. No worries, along came a feisty BMW M4 packing 700 horsepower and classic yellow LED 'eyes' to help us see another victory for the turbo Hellcat: 157 mph versus 149 mph! Last but not least, there was also a Porsche – most likely a 911 Turbo S – that probably had a few tweaks under the rear hood. As such, again, victory slipped out of this Mopar driver's hands for a few dreadful mph (161 versus 158)!
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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