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2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat with '600-plus horsepower' officially unveiled [w/video]

Dodge has officially unveiled the most powerful vehicle to ever wear the Challenger name - the SRT Hellcat - complete with over 600 horsepower courtesy of a supercharged, 6.2-liter Hemi V8. It will be offered alongside the 485-hp Challenger SRT.
The new, force-induced V8 isn't just the most powerful ever fitted to the Challenger, it's the most powerful eight-cylinder Chrysler Group has ever built. Power figures aren't finalized, so expect to see "over 600 hp" bandied about quite a lot. That fury will be channeled through either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic. Yes, over 600 ponies through an eight-speed auto. So far, the only vehicle we know of that delivers more output through that many gears is the as-yet untested Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Sadly, we don't have performance metrics just yet, although if this thing can't crack four seconds to 60 miles per hour, we'll be pretty surprised.
As is the theme nowadays, the 2015 Challenger SRT features a number of driving modes, governing power output, shift speeds for the 8AT, steering effort, traction control settings and suspension settings. There are three pre-programmed options - Default, Sport and Track - and a Custom mode that allows drivers to mix and match to their heart's content.

Could self-driving cars stop terrorist attacks?

Terrorists have taken to using a weapon that's easy to obtain and can do a lot of damage: ordinary vehicles, driven into crowds. A Department of Homeland Security-FBI bulletin from 2012 warned that "vehicle-ramming offers terrorists with limited access to explosives or weapons an opportunity to conduct a homeland attack with minimal prior training or experience." CNN recently listed nine vehicle-based terrorist attacks that have occurred within the past year, and in just in the past three months incidents in New York, Edmonton and Barcelona have claimed more than 20 lives and injured dozens after ISIS-affiliated drivers plowed into pedestrians. The deadliest so far was a Bastille Day attack in Nice, France that killed 86 people after a terrorist drove a truck into a crowd following a fireworks display. CNN also reported that "Al Qaeda's Yemeni branch encouraged its recruits in the West to use trucks as weapons," and noted that a 2010 article in the terrorist group's webzine called for deploying a truck as a "mowing machine, not to mow grass but mow down the enemies of Allah." Such attacks have been more common in Europe and other places where guns are harder to get, making vehicles violent and readily available weapons. But it's not only ISIS and Al Qaeda terrorists that have turned cars into weapons. A man with white nationalist ties drove a Dodge Challenger into a crowd of counter-protesters at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., in August, killing a 32-year-old woman and injuring dozens more. Some believe that autonomous vehicle technology could help stop these tragedies. "Terrorist attacks like the one in New York are a good example of why we need AVs more quickly," Caleb Watney, technology policy associate at the R Street Institute, a D.C.-based think tank, recently told the website Inverse. Dr. Junfeng Jiao, director of the Urban Information Lab at the University of Texas, told Inverse that "these tragedies may be taken into account by the makers such as Tesla and Google" when developing autonomous technology. "This is a huge opportunity for the next generation to de-weaponize cars," he added. Many vehicles already have forward collision warning with emergency autonomous braking, and a few combine it with pedestrian detection, although the latter technology typically works at speeds below 20 mph.

2020 Dodge Challenger celebrates 50th anniversary with a golden special edition

Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the original Dodge Challenger. And obviously Dodge wouldn't let that significant date go by without a special version of the 2020 Dodge Challenger. Meet the limited production Dodge Challenger 50th Anniversary Edition. The package is offered on the V6-powered GT with rear-wheel drive, as well as the R/T, R/T Scat Pack and R/T Scat Pack Widebody. The Hellcat and Hellcat Redeye are left out, but every 2020 example will get special 50th Anniversary badges to make up for that. On the outside, the package features a matte black hood, roof and trunk lid. V8 models get a body-color Shaker scoop. This marks the first time the Shaker scoop has been available on a Widebody Challenger. Despite having a Shaker scoop, the special edition cars also get the air intake headlights pioneered by the Hellcat, and they have a "50" printed on them to go with the other 50th Anniversary badging. All models get 20-inch wheels. These are finished in what Dodge calls "Gold School." These Challengers can be painted in one of seven colors: Frostbite, Hellraisin, Sinamon Stick, Go Mango, TorRed, F8 Green or the all-new Gold Rush. Inside the Challenger 50th Anniversary Edition are Nappa leather and Alcantara-covered seats and "Sepia" stitching and embroidery. It's all matched by carbon fiber trim with copper threads woven into it. The instrument cluster and the air vent badge are finished in the car's exterior color. Dodge will build only 70 of each model in each color as a tribute to the original car's 1970 model year. This means that there will be 490 GTs, 490 R/Ts, 490 R/T Scat Packs and 490 R/T Scat Pack Widebody models for a grand total of 1,960 cars. Each model has a different price for the 50th Anniversary package. It costs $4,995 for the GT, $5,495 for the R/T, and $5,995 for the Scat Pack models. The cars go on sale this coming spring.