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TechTranscript
00:00This is apparently what 0-60 in 3.4 seconds looks like, and no, I did not mix up the footage
00:15with a McLaren.
00:17This is the Dodge Challenger Hellcat Widebody, and well, it's ridiculously fast, and frighteningly
00:23competent on the track.
00:25This Hellcat has the fender flares from the Dodge Demon, so it's a couple of inches wider
00:28than the standard car, so you can cram more tire under there.
00:32That doesn't mean that it won't light up its rear tires with a flick of the right foot,
00:35though.
00:36Make no mistake, just because this isn't the coveted Demon model doesn't mean that it isn't
00:40fit for only the terminally deranged.
00:42I only had a short time with this car, and I promised to be nice to it, so here are some
00:47first impressions on the track.
00:48Alright, we're rolling up to Monticello Circuit in the Dodge Challenger Hellcat Widebody.
00:56This car has 707 horsepower from a supercharged V8.
01:00I'm very excited to see how the car is able to manage that, and how it communicates with
01:05me so that I can manage that.
01:07That's what I'm really aiming at evaluating here, basically.
01:10So I'm going to run in manual mode first, to get a flavor for what this 8-speed box
01:16can do, and then we're going to run over into automatic mode, because I've heard that the
01:21transmission is actually quite good at controlling the shifts itself.
01:26So we're in full track mode, so transmission's in track, paddle shifters are on, it says
01:31everything here on this awesome screen.
01:33Traction control's in track, suspension's in track, steering is in track, and we're
01:36good to go.
01:37Alright, we'll be gentle with it at first.
01:42Whine from the supercharger sounds awesome, right away.
01:47The shifts are aggressive, oh man.
01:51I could tell immediately that I had to pay attention to how much throttle I could apply.
01:56I slowly worked my way up.
02:01It controls its mass very well, but you can tell how big it is.
02:07Oh, there's just torque.
02:11Torque, just torque, everywhere.
02:16I was going to downshift, but I don't think I need to, actually.
02:20A little bit of understeer there at the limit, I can feel it starting to build.
02:23I'm going to straighten out and brake hard.
02:26I actually do like the transmission, I've got no problems there.
02:33And we are now at full throttle, look at that, and braking hard.
02:40Alright, there's definitely a feeling of mass through the steering.
02:53That's quite a lot of torque, wow, excellent.
02:58The sound, the combination of the V8 and the supercharger, excellent.
03:05A little bit of squirrely under braking there, that's fun.
03:09Let's see how it deals with the tight stuff.
03:11Yep, squeezing on the throttle, all the way to the edge of the track.
03:18Very impressive brakes, very impressive brakes.
03:24This is a big car.
03:27I'm going to try it in auto mode and see what it's capable of doing.
03:34Oh, it wants to be angry!
03:40Oh wow, that's good.
03:46Impressive transmission mapping, it knows about the shifts.
03:54The tail goes a little bit under throttle, as you would expect, but it's actually very well communicated.
03:58Aggressive upshifts, wow, I'm thoroughly impressed.
04:03I was expecting it to be a little bit more of a boat than it is.
04:07Roll on the throttle here, I'm going to end up in a massive slide.
04:12Wow.
04:15I like how lively the car is under braking, I'm surprised they did that.
04:19You are still getting the sense that you are controlling a very large vehicle.
04:24But it's kind of fun because you can just grab it by the scruff of the neck and wrestle it right through the track.
04:29That's engaging.
04:31I'm usually one that favors more lightweight and balanced cars, but I'm game for a car like this.
04:38Absolutely loved it.
04:41If you are on the fence about buying one of these, it's probably only because you haven't had a chance to test drive it yet.
04:49The normal Challenger I find brutish and boring, but this one feels like it could lay down fierce times at both the track and the drag strip.
04:56Also, I respect that they have kept the Challenger large and properly muscle car-like and resisted the urge to water it down.
05:04As a performance car, this is well done.
05:07Well done indeed.