What's the news?

Dodge reckons it has just launched the most powerful muscle car ever. It's called the Challenger SRT Hellcat and the supercharged 6.2-litre V8 engine produces 707hp and 880Nm of torque.

The title was wrestled from the Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500, which manages a paltry 662hp by comparison. Not only does the Hellcat destroy the competition but it also does a good job of beating exotica with its power output more than offered up by the darling of the SRT brand, the Viper, and even the Lamborghini Aventador supercar.

To ensure that the Hellcat is not wrapped around a tree when you are just going to the store for milk it is supplied with two keys; the red key gives access to the full 707hp and 880Nm while the black key limits things to make the car more driveable. Well a touch more driveable anyway, as even in 'limited' mode the engine still produces 500hp. Power is funnelled through either a six-speed manual gearbox or eight-speed 'TorqueFlite' automatic, which we can only assume are reinforced with steel girders.

Anything else?

The 'all-American' muscle car will be built at Dodge's production facility in Ontario, Canada with cars scheduled to begin to arrive in dealerships about now. That's in the States, obviously.

Paul Healy - 3 Jul 2014