2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Will Wake the Dead With 797 HP

Dodge has made some wicked changes to its Challenger lineup for model-year 2019, but most importantly they’ve added a new Hellcat Redeye model that offers nearly 800 horsepower.

Unveiled today at their Chelsea, Michigan proving ground, this latest roadgoing brawler features a slightly retuned version of the Challenger Demon’s engine, one delivering 797 ponies and 707 pound-feet of torque.

As you might have guessed, this car will be insanely quick, blitzing to 60 miles an hour in a claimed 3.4 seconds. Its supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi is strapping enough to write a check for 203 miles an hour, the Redeye’s terminal velocity. Of course, if drag racing is your thing this car can do the deed in just 10.8 seconds, tripping the clock at a smoking 131 miles an hour.

A beefy TorqueFlite 8HP90 eight-speed automatic transmission routes this car’s prodigious torque to the rear wheels. For choosy customers, two axle ratios are offered. A 2.62-to-1 pairing is standard, but for real enthusiasts a 3.09 gearset is also available for even harder launches.

SEE ALSO: 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon Review

Helping deliver a stable of nearly 800 horses, that engine features two dual-stage fuel pumps, a 2.7-liter supercharger, 14.5 psi of peak boost pressure and a 6,500-rpm redline.

To ensure the heavy-hitting V8 is never starving for oxygen it draws air from three different sources: the new dual-snorkel hood, a headlamp catcher on the driver’s side and another inlet near the wheel liner. These free-flowing paths help drop inlet air temperatures by as much as 4 degreed Fahrenheit, which doesn’t sound like much but is actually a huge difference while racing.

Making the Redeye a drag-racer’s dream are numerous other features designed to get you down the 1,320 as quickly and consistently as possible. One is called Torque Reserve, which helps increase launch torque by 55 percent by delivering nearly 4 psi of boost immediately. This machine also benefits from a Power Chiller and an After-Run Chiller, which help keep power-sapping heat in check. The former taps into the air-conditioning system to keep the supercharger cool, the latter allows the fan and low-temp cooling pump circulating when the engine is shut down for more consistent temperatures between runs.

Official pricing hasn’t been announced, but the Hellcat Redeye is expected to start around $70,000. Production of the 2019 Dodge Challenger lineup begins this summer in Canada at FCA’s Brampton, Ontario factory. Deliveries are expected to commence in autumn.

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