Bill Gamble took his record-setting Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat back to the track this past weekend and thanks to a combination of seat time and good air, Gamble’s supercharged Mopar muscle car was able to reset two of his own world records while claiming a new record – the quickest modern Hemi-powered car with a manual transmission.
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Back in September, we brought you the news that a new quarter mile record had been set for the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat with the 6-speed manual transmission, as owner and driver Bill Gamble was the first to make a 9-second pass with a manual transmission Hellcat Challenger. Gamble’s record of 9.79 from earlier this year has gone unchallenged since being set, but this past weekend, Bill was back at Great Lakes Dragway looking to make some record runs – and he succeeded.
Record Run After Record Run
When Bill Gamble hit the track this past weekend, he hadn’t made any changes to his Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat from when he set the record of 9.79 earlier this year. However, with some tuning tweaks, better air and added seat time leading to a better launch, Gamble was able to beat his 9.79 record with a pair of new 9.7X runs – a 9.76 at 150.75 and a 9.73 at 149.47.
That 9.73 became the new quarter mile ET record for a manual transmission Hellcat Challenger, but Gamble’s trap speed on the 9.76 run marks the first time a Hellcat car has surpassed the 150 mile per hour mark in the quarter mile. In short, that was the quickest ever quarter mile ET for a Hellcat Challenger with a manual transmission and the fastest trap speed in the quarter mile by any Hellcat car, but Gamble wasn’t done.
Later in the day, Bill Gamble made his best run to date, laying down an incredible 9.647 at 151.97 miles per hour – comfortably resetting the Hellcat/manual transmission ET record and the overall Hellcat quarter mile MPH record. However, on that run, Gamble’s Challenger laid down a quicker quarter mile run than any other modern car with a Hemi V8 and a manual transmission.
In other words, if gathered up the quickest times from every Dodge Challenger with a Hemi V8 and a manual transmission – none would best Gamble’s 9.647 at nearly 152 miles per hour.
How He Got There
Bill Gamble’s Hellcat Challenger is the quickest of its kind in the world, but it took some work to get there – in addition to Gamble’s incredible ability to launch a manual transmission car. Joshua Schwartz of High Horse Performance tuned this Hellcat Hemi, which has been fitted with upper and lower pulleys and a nitrous oxide system, while the rest of the drivetrain has been beefed up with a heavy duty clutch, a stronger driveshaft, a new rear differential and Hoosier rear tires on lightweight wheels.
The extra power allows Bill Gamble to storm down the quarter mile with a speed of almost 152 miles per hour, and those improved drivetrain bits allow him to launch the car hard enough to run 9.6 ETs.
For those wondering, the overall Hellcat quarter mile record belongs to the Challenger known as “TopCat”, which laid down a best time of 9.29 to set the record. So far, no one has come close to that number, but that car has the 8-speed automatic. When it comes to a modern Hemi car with a manual transmission, Bill Gamble’s Hellcat Challenger is literally the quickest in the world.
Unfortunately, there is no video of Gamble’s 9.64 run, but we do have a video from Facebook showing his 9.76 run – which gives us a great chance to hear the 2-step work as he launches the world’s fastest modern Dodge Challenger with a manual transmission.
Crank up your speakers and enjoy!
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