There was that time Vin Diesel bestowed Middle East royalty with a 2014 Dodge Challenger. As much as the American muscle car made sense as a great souvenir in that instance, the 2015 model may make sense as a gift to Space X or NASA. Already said to be generating 707 hp from its 6.2-liter supercharged V-8, the numbers may actually be higher, pushing closer to the 1,000 mark.
The latest figure pegged to the Hellcat is 825 hp, reports Jalonik, claiming to have gleaned the info from a Chrysler-employed insider (who we assume is not making this up). Either way, with uncertainty about the “muscular muscle car,” as Jalopnik put it, being able to meet emission requirements at 707 hp, it is even more questionable with the revised figure.
The Chrysler insider believes the 707 figure was all but arbitrary and Jalopnik’s Jason Torchinsky even suggest it may have been made up by the Detroit automaker’s marketing department. The reality is that the actual numbers may have been eyebrow-raising but far from factual, as some dyno tests come up with 720 hp and the insider tells Jalopnik buyers should expect their car to deliver in the 630 hp range.
The insider revealed what could amount to be a very interesting technical caveat in the 2015 Hellcat as well. Chrysler is experimenting with a Mazda MAF (mass air flow) sensor and a wideband O2 sensor in the Hellcat’s engine, which it has not previously used in lieu of standard MAP (manifold absolute pressure) sensor. Torchinsky concludes that the “Hellcat is being used as a testbed for future Chrysler use of MAF-based systems.”
Chrysler pulled a move straight form Apple’s playbook in responding to the insider information, telling Jalopnik it had no comment.
Photo Credit: Jay Leno’s Garage
