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Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat vs. Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in latest Head 2 Head

"Olympian" is one of the terms we use to signify the greatest height, the seat of the gods. Yet Mt. Olympus is the second-highest peak in the Balkans ranges, overshadowed by the crest at Musala in Bulgaria's Rila mountains. Both great heights, but one is a little higher. That's how we get the Olympian Chevy Camaro ZL1 pitched at the Musalic Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat in Motor Trend's latest episode of Head 2 Head. The side-by-side spec sheet is filled with farcical numbers. For the ZL1, that's a 6.2-liter V8 with 580 horsepower, 556 pound-feet of torque, a 4,051-pound curb weight, 0-to-60 miles per hour in 3.9 seconds, a quarter-mile time of 12.2 seconds and a base price of just $57,800. Opposing that, the Hellcat wrings out its 6.2-liter V8 for 707 hp, 650 lb-ft of torque, weighs 4,449 pounds, does the quarter in 11.7 seconds and has a base price of just $60,990. Except in the case of the Hellcat, when Motor Trend put it on the dyno the machine spit out a reading of 672 hp and 606 lb-ft at the wheels. If there's a 10-percent driveline loss through those beefed-up internals and heavy-duty eight-speed transmission, that means the Hellcat is actually rated at about 750 horsepower and 700 lb-ft. But once they get put on a closed-off strip of coast road in Northern California, there are only a few strands of hair between their respective performances. That's not the case for they sensations provide; host Jonny Lieberman calls one of them, "One of the most incredible cars ever made," and says, "It changes everything." Watch the video above to see who got the verdict and how. Related Video:

Speedkore AWD twin-turbo Carbon Charger, best birthday gift ever

The backstory the Speedkore Performance AWD twin-turbo Carbon Charger teased a couple of weeks ago might be cooler than the car itself. Alan Palermo commissioned the carbon-fiber-bodied Dodge Demon Speedkore brought to SEMA last year, the one that supplanted the 6.2-liter Hellcat V8's supercharger with twin 6875 Precision Billet T4 turbos. That blasted the Demon's usual 840 horsepower up to 1,400 hp at the flywheel, 1,203 hp at the rear tires, good for an 8.77-second quarter-mile time at 162 miles per hour. Palermo's older brother remarked, "He liked the car but was more of a four-door guy," so Alan commissioned the AWD Carbon Charger as a 65th birthday gift for his sibling. Speedkore worked with Magnaflow on the sedan, starting with a 2019 Charger Pursuit as a base. The Wisconsin tuner secured a 2020 widebody Charger from Dodge, then 3D-scanned the bodywork to create the molds reproducing most of the sheetmetal in pre-preg carbon fiber. The hood, bumpers, fenders, rockers, rear spoiler, and rear diffuser are all fashioned from the lightweight stuff.  Beyond those Precision turbos laid in by Gearhead Fabrications, Speedkore installed a custom upper plenum, Boost Leash C02 progressive boost controller, custom Thitek heads, a Fore Innovations triple-pump fuel system feeding Injector Dynamics 1,700-cc injectors, and custom HP Tuners engine software calibration. Test results showed 1,525 hp at the crank when running 26 pounds of boost.  Hellraiser Performance engineered a new transmission working an FTI torque converter at one end and a carbon fiber driveshaft at the other. Instead of fortifying an off-the-shelf AWD system, Traction Products supplied a custom transfer case machined from billet shunting power to a set of Bogart Competition Series wheels wearing Mickey Thompson ET street rubber.  Speedkore fitted last year's Demon with a front-exit twin exhaust, with a single opening on each front fender, and left the rear bumper cutouts for the traditional exhaust empty. With the Carbon Charger sedan more of a family guy, Magnaflow sorted out a quad-pipe front-exit exhaust with two openings on each front fender, and ran a three-inch stainless steel Competition Series exhaust to the rear. The driver can switch between the two, the latter version providing a "moderate interior sound."  The folks at Speedkore say they'll keep tweaking the Carbon Charger after the show to get it right for the senior Palermo. We say, "Happy birthday, sir. Enjoy."

2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition celebrates an icon

Fifty years ago, Dodge commissioned Creative Industries to build the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona as a homologation special to satisfy NASCAR rules. The extraterrestrial-looking coupe conquered at the race track, broke records, and frightened any onlooker possessed of a weak constitution; it's claimed that even the carmaker's general manager at the time, Bob McCurry, considered the Charger Daytona the ugliest car he'd ever laid eyes on. Time having worked its magic, Dodge is celebrating the now-iconic Winged Warrior with the 2020 Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition. The new model goes without a nose cone and vertical stabilizers, but it does loose 717 horsepower from its 6.2-liter supercharged V8, which is 10 more than the standard car. The grunty sedan will be available in four colors: Pitch Black, Triple Nickel, White Knuckle, and B5 Blue exclusive to this model. B5 was the original paint code for a Blue Fire Poly hue available on Dodge and Plymouth products built between 1969 and 1972. Evoking the original as well as highlighting the decklid spoiler on the new Charger, the black, nickel, and blue sedans get white "Daytona" decals on the rear quarter panels and a white spoiler, matching white Hellcat badges on the front fenders. White cars get blue "Daytona" decals and spoiler, and Hellcat badges in a bright finish. Twenty-inch Warp Speed wheels finished in Satin Carbon on all-season Pirellis and black Brembo brakes complete the exterior overhaul. Inside, heated and cooled 12-way adjustable performance seats are trimmed in Nappa leather and Alcantara, with blue cross-stitching joining seatbacks embroidered with the word "Daytona." The flat-bottomed, suede-wrapped steering wheel with silver stitching and "velour-bound" floor mats will only come in this model, the festival of special appointments also including the dynamica suede headliner, carbon fiber instrument panel and bezels, light black chrome trim pieces, and blue stitching on the dash, shifter, center console armrest, and door panels. Dodge will only produce 501 units, said to match the number of cars necessary for NASCAR homologation at the time, and each wears a plaque identifying it as "X out of 501." NASCAR rules in 1969 demanded 500 units, actually — the car Dodge built in 1968 to race was called the Charger 500, in fact. Also, Creative Industries built 503 1969 Charger Daytonas for the U.S. and another 40 for Canada, but who's counting?