2015 Dodge Challenger SRT First Look

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The SRT Viper hasn't exactly set the performance-car world on fire, but the new 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is all the Chrysler Group needs to remind everyone which musclecar oozes with personality, plenty of power and even offers an eight-speed automatic. The 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT and 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat complete the redesigned two-door's lineup with an interior that easily rivals a Nissan GT-R in performance customizability, while offering so much more than it did before the redesign.

We'll get right to it: the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT now produces 485 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque from a naturally aspirated 6.4-liter V-8 -- up from 470 hp and 470 lb-ft in the 2014 Challenger SRT. The supercharged 6.2-liter V-8, meanwhile, is the most powerful V-8 engine ever produced by the Chrysler Group. We don't yet have SAE-rated power figures, but Dodge promises the engine will make more than 600 hp. Considering the SRT Viper is good for 640 hp from its 8.4-liter V-10, count on the 2015 Challenger SRT with the Hellcat V-8 engine to fall well below that. A Tremec six-speed manual transmission is available on both 2015 Challenger SRT models alongside an eight-speed automatic as well. On the Hellcat model, the eight-speed can handle 30-percent more engine torque than any other eight-speed automatic in the Chrysler Group family.

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Dodge says there are over 200 possible drive-mode combinations with the 2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat -- and the car even comes with a red key fob that unlocks the engine's full potential. If you're trying to protect your 2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat from an adventurous valet (or teenager), use the black key fob that limits power to 500 hp. After entering your four-digit PIN code, stick the car in Valet Mode, which limits the car to 4000 rpm, upshifts earlier than normal, disables the steering-wheel paddle shifters on automatic-transmission models, eliminates the Drive Mode selections (Default, Sport, Track, and Custom), keeps the stability control completely on, and disables launch control.

What makes the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat's interior so cool is SRT's continued focus on presenting the driver with all kinds of entertaining performance information and options. In the seven-inch instrument cluster screen alone, you can take a look at peak G-forces (measured in the front and back, and on both sides), time 0-60 mph runs, use a lap timer, and more. On the 8.4-inch center stack screen, you can see how much horsepower and torque you're using at any given time, activate launch control, and set up at what rpm you want the car to illuminate a shift light. It's a lot of cool stuff that may not be used on a daily basis, but will impress when Challenger SRT Hellcat owners are showing all their friends a Dodge musclecar that will likely retail in the low to mid-$50,000 range.

Read about the non-SRT Challengers RIGHT HERE in our 2015 Dodge Challenger First Look.

All 2015 Challenger SRT coupes ride on 20-inch forged wheels, but where the regular SRT model gets 245/45ZR20 Goodyear RSA2 All-Season or Goodyear F1 Supercar Three-Season tires, the 2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat model is upgraded to P275/40ZR20 Pirelli P Zero Nero four-season tires that are Y-Plus rated for high speeds (a three-season tire is also available). As you'd expect from the most powerful new Challenger ever, the SRT Hellcat model also has the largest front brakes ever offered on an SRT vehicle, with 15.4-inch Brembo two-piece rotors with six-piston calipers -- a package that's also offered as part of the SRT Track Pack for regular Challenger SRT models.

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Engineers of the revised Challenger spent 35-percent more time in the automaker's wind tunnel to optimize aerodynamics on an in-your-face car that looks anything but aerodynamically efficient. Let's be honest, though, one of the main reasons buyers will go for the 2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat is to kick visual ass on the street or on the track compared to its competitors. You can distinguish the Hellcat model from lesser Challengers by its Slingshot-design twin-seven spoke wheel design, the larger front splitter, the "Supercharged" badges, and a power-bulge aluminum hood whose design recalls the hood of the original 1996 Viper. And yes, the all-aluminum hood with its dual air extractors can be ordered in black. The Hellcat model pictured in this First Look is the brightly colored car, while the regular Challenger SRT is the black coupe.

Though the 2015 Dodge Challenger is no luxury car, the automaker will offer some upscale trim options for those who want the best the Chrysler Group can offer but don't want to pay more than $100,000 for a Viper. The standard heated and cooled SRT seats have been redesigned, while the available performance seats can be upholstered in a Nappa leather-Alcantara combination or in Laguna premium leather. A heated steering wheel and adaptive cruise control will be on the options list, as will two full-body stripe options and 11 exterior colors.

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The Challenger doesn't sell as well as its cross-town rivals, but with the SRT Hellcat model, Dodge has at last equipped the musclecar with exactly what it needs to be mentioned in the same sentence as the best Camaro and Mustang models. That alone justifies the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, and we can't wait to get one on the track.

Production on the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT is set to begin in the third quarter of 2014.

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