Auburn Hills, Michigan - Among the first comments on our launch story for the new Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat was one from Neelsie asking "So where are the performance figures?".
Good question. And it would seem he's not the only one asking.
By American standards, of course, performance is measured in straight lines, a quarter mile at a time, so Chrysler recently took one of these 520kW monsters to a drag strip and ran it through the quarter-mile under the official sanction of the National Hot Rod Association.
Please note these are not manufacturer’s claims - these are certified NHRA numbers.
Straight out of the box, on the same Pirelli P275/40ZR20 P Zero tyres that yours will be wearing when you take delivery, the 6.2-litre supercharged V8 Hellcat posted a blistering 11.2 seconds at 201km/h.
And that, according to the NHRA, is the fastest yet by a box-stock American-built production muscle-car.
But, as good as the Pirellis are, they are in fact the car's limiting factor. When the SRT hooligans replaced them with drag radials, the same car promptly ran a 10.8 at 203km/h.
"… The fastest and most powerful muscle car ever"
"It wasn't long ago that a 10-second car, was a full-on race car," said Dodge boss Tim Kuniskis.
"Not only can the new Challenger Hellcat break into the tens on the drag strip, but you can also put your family in it and drive cross the country - it's the ultimate GT muscle car."