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Chrysler almost smothered the Hellcat before it lived

Chrysler's 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat V8 was an absolute sensation from the very moment it was announced, and honestly, how could it not have been? Packing 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque, its numbers immediately put every other production muscle car (and many supercars) to shame. Plus, we soon learned that would be wrapped in a package retailing for around $60,000 - a pittance compared to other vehicles offering similar grunt. However, the Hellcat almost never got the chance to rumble under the hood of the Challenger and Charger.
The Hellcat was initially proposed back in 2011, back when Fiat was deciding its future strategy for Chrysler Group, according to Automotive News. At the time, the company was just emerging from its bankruptcy doldrums, and an ultra-high-performance V8 wasn't exactly a must-have item. The program didn't move forward. However, SRT engineers kept fighting, according to AN, and four months later, they received the green light to pull the project off the shelf and continue developing the Hellcat. The muscle car world is certainly better for that decision.
The work of those engineers focused on taking Chrysler's standard 6.2-liter V8 and making it reliably handle all of the extra power from the supercharger. "It came down to micron levels of changes in the crank to be able to withstand the pressures of the engine," said Chris Cowland, director of advanced and SRT powertrain, to Automotive News. The changes amounted to switching out about 91 percent of the parts to make the Hellcat, including some quite minuscule alterations. For example, the washer holding the supercharger pulley is embedded with industrial diamonds to keep it from slipping.

Dodge Hellcats getting price hike

Dodge plans twice as many Hellcats on the road for the 2016 model year, they are going to be a bit more expensive when buyers sign on the dotted line. According to CarsDirect and confirmed to Autoblog by Dodge, 2016 Challenger SRT Hellcat costs $65,190, an increase of $4,200 over 2015. That figure includes $995 for destination and $1,700 for the Gas Guzzler charge. The latest Charger SRT Hellcat retails for $68,640, a $3,650 increase. Other SRT trims of the muscle cars also see a price hike. The 2016 Challenger SRT 392 is $51,190, after destination and a $1,000 guzzler charger – a $3,500 increase. The Charger SRT 392 also jumps $3,000, to $51,990. Even at 2015's prices, Dodge was having problems keeping up with demand for the Hellcat, and the higher price isn't likely to change that. And before you think the company is going plum crazy, the 2016 models of all four muscle cars come standard with Laguna leather seats and navigation. According to company spokesperson Dan Reid to Autoblog, both items had a "very high customer take rate," and the previously optional features are valued at $2,490. Dodge previously announced a discount for those who had a sold 2015 Hellcat order canceled in the switch to 2016. Those amount to $5,000 on the Challenger and $4,000 Charger, which seems like a sweet deal for those customers. Related Video:

2015 Dodge Viper getting small increase in power

The Viper is used to being the most powerful car in the Dodge and SRT stables, but the arrival of the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat means that's no longer the case. The serpentine supercar is, however, reportedly getting a small boost in output for 2015, amounting to all of five horsepower.
The increase was uncovered by Road & Track courtesy of the SAE J1349 certification process to which Detroit's Big Three automakers submit themselves and which reports the Viper's output at 645 hp instead of the 640 it was rated at until now. There are a hundred factors that could have contributed to the relatively mild boost in output (best guess? nothing at all changed...), but we doubt anyone's going to complain about some extra horses under the hood.
The five-horsepower boost brings the Viper that much closer to the 650-hp Chevy Corvette Z06, not to mention the 707-hp Hellcat, but the Viper's impressive power-to-weight ratio ought to mean it'll have little problem keeping up in a straight line - which is just one of the reasons why Chrysler won't shoe-horn the Hellcat into the Viper: as R&T points out, the supercharged engine is too heavy and the blower makes it too tall to fit in the Viper's engine bay.