2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody Quick Drive Review
Tire Smokin’ Fun
SRT must stand for “Smokes Rubber Thoroughly” because the Redeye is all too happy to participate in the all-American pastime of burnouts. However, there is a secret trick to make smoke shows a reality.
If you press the stability control button, you will get a prompt that stability control has been switched to Sport. That’s a non-starter, and will kill the fun instantaneously. Tap it again, and it’ll enter Track mode. Surely that’ll do that trick? Nope. In order to fully defeat traction and stability control, you have to enter the SRT Pages on the UConnect infotainment screen. UConnect is pretty slick overall, but there are certainly a lot of features to look at (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto both included). Fortunately, Dodge has fitted the Challenger with an SRT Pages button just below the screen, like a shortcut. Once on this screen, you can press and hold down the stability control button to turn it fully off. Likely a safety feature so owners don’t accidentally do so.
With that out of the way, stand the brake pedal, lean on the accelerator and let the Redeye scream. It’s quite effective at both smoking tires and elevating one’s mood. But that all sounds like too much work, right? No problem. Dodge has fitted the Hellcat Redeye with a line lock system, which locks the front brakes, allowing for perfect burnouts in the burnout box at the drag strip.
It’s So Much More Than That
After my 10 seconds of childishness, I then began to mesh with the Challenger in an unlikely arena: a winding mountain road. Those wide tires, when you aren’t trying to torture them, do an admirable job of keeping the Redeye stuck to the pavement.
Similarly, the massive Brembo brakes, with six-piston calipers and two-piece rotors up front then four-piston rear calipers, work in tandem with the grippy rubber to bring the big Challenger to a halt in a hurry. No brake fade in the canyon roads, either. You can thank those massive rotors for their incredible ability to dissipate heat.
In fact, if you aren’t trying to smokescreen Mustangs in your rear view mirror, the Hellcat Redeye Widebody might actually just leave those Mustangs in the dust after a few corners. Yes, really. Despite the 4,500 pound curb weight, the Redeye actually has a decent mass-to-tire ratio, meaning it can really handle itself through the twisty stuff. It’s no Miata, nor does it pretend to be, but it can hang if you can trust in its abilities.
The supercharged Hemi V8 is brimming with character. It’s a cacophonous blend of shrill supercharger whine, which sounds like a string instrument being tortured for the enjoyment of passengers and passersby alike, to the sharp engine note, and all trailed by the resonant, powerful bark from the exhaust.
TorqueFlite 8-speed transmission has nice, tight gear spacing that feels very exciting at “just short of jail” speeds. Banging through the first five gears is quick and offers a satisfying sensation of never-ending acceleration. It’s something you will be doing repeatedly, to listen to that 376-cubic-inch piece of Americana scream.
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