The Hellcat Hemi Might Make the Dodge Charger SRT America's Most Powerful Sedan

If the expectations of the supercharged 6.2L supercharged Hellcat Hemi prove to be accurate, anything in the 600hp range would make the Dodge Charger SRT the most powerful full production sedan sold in the United States – packing more of a punch than anything offered by the best performance sedans from Europe.

While the Chrysler Group hasn’t offered up any numbers on the upcoming Hellcat Hemi, it is widely expected that this 6.2L supercharged V8 could pack more than 600 horsepower. Should that be the case, the Dodge Charger SRT will comfortably be the most powerful 4-door sedan sold in the US market – beating the likes of the Porsche Panamera, the Jaguar XJR, the Aston Martin Rapide S, the BMW M5, the Mercedes Benz E63 AMG S, the Tesla Model S, the Audi RS7 and the Cadillac CTS-V by a significant margin.

First, a quick look at the power offered by the most powerful 4-door sedans sold in America – all of which will contend with the Hellcat Hemi powered 2016 Dodge Charger SRT.

Vehicle – Engine – Horsepower – Torque – Starting Price
Porsche Panamera Turbo S – Twin Turbo 4.8L V8 – 570 – 553 - $181,295
Jaguar XJR – Supercharged 5.0L V8 – 550 – 502 - $116,000
Aston Martin Rapide S – 6.0L V12 – 550 – 457 - $198,250
BMW M5 – Twin Turbo 4.4L V8 – 560 – 502 - $92,900
Mercedes Benz E63 AMG S 4MATIC – Twin Turbo 5.5L V8 – 577 – 590 - $99,770
Tesla Model S Performance – 85 kWh Electric drive – 416 – 443 - $93,400
Audi RS7 – Twin Turbocharged 4.0L V8 – 560 – 516 - $104,900
Cadillac CTS-V (Now discontinued ) – Supercharged 6.2L V8 – 556 – 551 - $64,900

Rumors have indicated that the new 6.2L supercharged Hellcat Hemi V8 for the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT and the 2016 Dodge Charger SRT could pack anywhere between 580 and 640 horsepower while torque figures would likely be in the same range. Even if the Charger SRT’s new blown Hemi “only” has numbers in the bottom end of that range with 580 horsepower and 580lb-ft of torque, it will beat the highest powered sedan sold in the US right now – the Mercedes Benz E63 AMG S 4MATIC - by a few ponies while trailing in torque by a small margin. However, what consider to be the lowest likely power numbers for the 2016 Charger SRT would give it an advantage of at least 10 horsepower and 27lb-ft of torque over every other high performance sedan sold in America.

We are always hearing that this car is the fastest this or the fastest that – but you need to take a step back and look at the claim that could be laid down by the 2016 Dodge Charger SRT.

The Dodge Charger SRT could be the most powerful 4-door sedan sold in America. More power than what is offered by some of the biggest and most impressive names in the high performance sedan world. Charger SRT drivers could pull up next to cars like the M5, the Panamera Turbo S, the Aston Martin Rapide S, the Cadillac CTS-V or the Tesla Model S (and plenty more) feeling very confident that when the light turns green – they are going to blow away the other car. Of course, should SRT pack the high end 2016 Dodge Charger’s Hellcat Hemi with more than 600 horsepower – it will easily pummel anything on the list above without so much as a second thought.

More importantly, the 2016 Dodge Charger SRT will almost surely cost way less than any of the models listed above that are still in production. Now that the Cadillac CTS-V is out of production, the least expensive of those high performance sedans listed above is the BMW M5 at $92,900. The current Dodge Charger SRT with 470hp and 470lb-ft of torque runs around $48,000 and while we can expect a big price leap for the new Hellcat Hemi, I would expect the price of this new Mopar muscle car to start under $70,000.

Even if Chrysler priced the 2016 Charger SRT at $69,995, it would be $22,000 cheaper than the BMW M5 that offers less power. At $70k, you could buy two Charger SRTs for the price of the Porsche Panamera Turbo S or the Aston Martin Rapide S (which having plenty of change left over) and should the Charger SRT cost around $70k – you could buy a Charger SRT and a Charger SXT AWD for winter driving and still spend less than you would if you bought the Jag, the AMG, the Tesla or the Audi on the list above.

Of course, this is all speculation and will remain to be nothing but hopes and dreams until more official information is introduced by the Chrysler Group’s Street and Racing Technology division. However, there seems to be a good chance that the next generation SRT Charger will at least be one of the most powerful sedans sold in the US provided that the rumors floating around the internet are even close to the actual numbers.