2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye essentials: More muscle, more fun

06/28/2019

The 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye gets a few special interior touches.

What is it: The 2019 Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye is a muscle car in the most glorious way. Essentially, the Redeye takes the now-pedestrian Hellcat to the next level by throwing even more horsepower at the problem. The problem, of course, is that there’s never enough…

Key Competitors: Ford Mustang Shelby GT350, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and anything next to you at a stoplight

Base Price: $79,440 As-Tested Price: $82,026

Full review: Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye, R/T and 1320

Highlights: Um, how about 797 hp, 707 lb-ft of torque and fender flares? Other than that, it’s the same Dodge Challenger you’ve come to know love over the past decade. Oh, and the Hellcat logo has a red eye.

The 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye gets a few special interior touches.

Our Opinion: I like the Dodge Challenger. I think it looks great and is probably the most cruising-oriented pony car on the market. It’s not a track car, unless that track is one-quarter mile and straight as an arrow, but you knew that. Go to Ford or Chevy if you want to be a track day star. Instead, the folks over at Dodge teamed up with SRT to craft the ultimate throwback muscle car. In Hellcat trim, the Challenger already sends a Hemi-rattling 707 hp through the driveline and fills the cabin with blower whine and exhaust noise. How can it get any better?

Well, SRT figured it out and threw on wider wheels and tires, and cranked the horsepower up near Demon levels for this Hellcat Redeye. Powering the Challenger is still a 6.2-liter V8, but now it’s topped with a big, 2.7-liter supercharger. That’s a 0.3-liter increase over the blower you’ll find on a standard Hellcat. The bigger blower means more boost: up to 14.5 psi over the standard Hellcat’s 11.6 psi. Add a higher engine redline (now 6,500 RPM), and that major hardware change nets you almost 100 more horsepower. No maniac worth his or her salt is going to complain about more oomph.

The extra power translates extremely well to the pavement. The fender flares help this Challenger fit those wider wheels and tires, which can put more horses to the asphalt. With all of the electronic nannies on, mashing the gas translates to a shockingly violent experience that will wake up whoever happens to be sleeping in your car while you’re road tripping through the night. Power! Wait. Power! Wait. However, those nannies do help keep the car dead straight in dry conditions. Flipping through the different modes firms up the suspension and adjusts the transmission logic. The adaptive Bilstein shocks firm up as you progress from the normal mode to sport and track driving modes. The firmer shock settings keep the car flatter when laying into the throttle. Track mode tells the transmission to hold gears longer, which should help you squeeze some time off your E.T. or maybe even shave a few seconds off your lap time, if you dare bring this behemoth to a road course. There’s also a launch control feature and brake line lock, which means you’ll be able to chew up as many tires as you can afford.

Okay, so we all know the Hellcat Redeye is face-meltingly fast, but how does it do everywhere else? Well, just bombing around town, the Redeye does a great job at dealing with terrible roads in its softest mode. This is a genuinely capable grand tourer that also happens to make nearly 800 hp. The brakes bring you quickly to a stop, thanks to sizeable 15.4-inch front rotors that are clamped by six-piston Brembo calipers. The steering feel is light considering the wide front rubber, but the system feels quick and responsive to me. The interior isn’t great for an $80K car: it feels far from “premium.” But that doesn’t really matter because you’re buying a monster. I’d opt to keep the rear seat to make the Hellcat Redeye the ultimate modern cruiser.

Drivetrain: 6.2-liter supercharged V8, eight-speed automatic, RWD

Output: 797 hp @ 6,300 rpm; 707 lb-ft @ 4,500 rpm

Curb Weight: 4,492 lb

Fuel Economy (EPA City/Highway/Combined): N/A

Pros: Immense power, good road manners

Cons: If you get it in red, you can’t see the red eye; keep the back seat

There are some interesting features within the infotainment system, some more distracting than others. In the gauge cluster display you can keep cycling through the options until you find a horsepower readout, which is hilarious to peek at while you’re cruising along at 70 mph and using 18 horsepower. It does get on the dangerous side if you were to try to watch it climb while doing a pull. Don’t do that. Other than that, the UConnect system does a great job at playing music and featuring a Challenger icon in the navigation.

The one downside to the Challenger Hellcat Redeye is how hard it is to keep your foot out of the throttle. With serious restraint, I managed to simply hit the cruise control button and squeaked out respectable fuel mileage, with the live readout amazingly staying north of 20 mpg. City driving is more difficult and will likely result in frequent trips to a gas pump.

Okay, the question still might remain: why does this exist? Well, because the folks at Dodge know what they’re doing. These Hellcat Redeyes will be cherished years from now in the way people look fondly back at the powerful Mopars of yore. Though, instead of slapping a paisley-print vinyl top on it and bringing back the Modtop package, SRT will just continue to squeeze more and more power out of this boulevard beater. And no one should complain about that.

–Wesley Wren, associate editor

Options: 3.09 rear axle ratio ($1,095); Uconnect 4C with navigation ($795); Pirelli P-Zero summer tires ($695); rear seat delete ($1)

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