1. Simply put, the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is now the most powerful muscle car you can buy. With a touch of the pedal the 6.2L supercharged V8 body-slams a whopping 707 rear wheel hp and 650lbft of torque to the pavement. To put things in perspective the Dodge Viper only produces 640hp. If you are brave enough to try, the top speed is 205mph. With the launch control set, the Hellcat will run the quarter mile in 11 seconds flat. It is available with either an 8spd Torque Flight automatic or a 6 – speed manual swapped in from the Viper. It is surprisingly nimble around the corners, but still handles like a muscle car should. Track testing brought about interesting results by demonstrating that the automatic makes the jump from 0-60 in just 3.6 seconds, which is actually faster than the manual’s 3.9 second 0-60. For those of us pining for the old days of big motors and rear wheel drive, this bad boy is definitely a top contender.
2. The 2016 Mustang GT500 does not play around. This Pony’s 5.8L V8 puts out 662hp and 613lbft of torque. This is 82hp and 75hp more than the Chevy Camaro Zl1. The 2015 GT500 will only be available in the correct transmission configuration, a 6-speed manual. The new rear drive platform, code named S550, features newly engineered independent rear suspension. The Spy Review by CarandDriver.com revealed what appear to be carbon-ceramic break rotors barely visible through the spokes. The current price is set at $54,995, but as the final product wont be released until 2015, it’s hard to say if that price tag will stick. As the New Year progresses we are hopeful to steal some new naked pictures of Pony if we are lucky.
2015 Models have been available for a while now, but we are greatly looking forward to the debut of the 2016 models. It appears that the Camaro will be getting the biggest facelift out of the bunch, but at this point it is too early, and frankly still to top secret, to draw out any solid conclusions. It appears that the American market has finally accepted a traditional muscle car with factory forced induction and over 500hp as an option. This is not something that would surprise us coming from the Viper or Corvette, but these aren’t roadster coupes made of fiberglass, these are raw American steel.
Having not driven any of these cars yet I can’t say which I would like the best. I like the looks of the Mustang best and I do like a independant rear end for handling, if you get the center of gravity low enough, and the Stang does look low.