Unveiled in July, order books for the 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat are now open in the US. Dodge says that it will build the world’s most powerful series production SUV exclusively for the 2021 model year, and that should make it rather exclusive. The MRSP for the Hellcat SUV is $80,995 (RM335,584) and deliveries are to start in early 2021.
Hellcat is not a name one would associate with a three-row SUV, and but the Durango joins the Challenger and Charger in the hottest of gyms. The muscle is courtesy of a 6.2 litre supercharged Hemi V8 with 710 hp and 875 Nm of torque. That’s three more horses than the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, enabling Dodge to claim the most powerful rights. It’s still a few hp/Nm shy of the 717 hp/889 Nm of the Challenger and Charger Hellcats though. The gearbox is an eight-speed automatic and there’s AWD.
Where does that stand compared to German fast SUVs? The BMW X5 M Competition has 617 hp and 750 Nm), the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S 4Matic+ has 603 hp and 850 Nm, and the Porsche Cayenne Turbo comes with 542 hp and 770 Nm.
To achieve those figures, SRT’s SUV packs a 2.38-litre supercharger with twin-screw rotors capable of spinning at up to 14,600 rpm and delivering boost pressures as high as 11.6 psi. To make sure things don’t blow up, there are charge air coolers integrated into the supercharger, comprised of a water pump, coolant reservoir and heat exchanger to keep intake air temperatures below 60 degrees celsius.
Dodge claims a 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) time of 3.5 seconds and a quarter-mile (0-400m) elapsed time of 11.5 seconds, as certified by America’s National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). Top speed is 180 mph, or 290 km/h. This beast of a car also comes with Launch Control, Launch Assist and Brembo brakes (six-piston front, four-piston rear, 400 mm rotors in front, 350 mm at the back).
Dodge is the official sponsor of the Bondurant High Performance Driving School in Chandler, Arizona, where guests get behind the wheels of the fastest street-legal cars in the world with professional instruction and track time. Customers who buy a new SRT, including the Durango Hellcat, receive one full-day session to explore their newly acquired beasts in a controlled environment. That’s not just nice, but needed.
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Meanwhile Malaysia get 1.5 engine with >200 horsepower. I’m glad I moved to the US.