The HHP Dodge Challenger Hellcat Runs a 9.29, Sets a New World Record

Earlier this week, the white Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat built and tuned by High Horse Performance set a new Hellcat quarter mile record, running a 9.29 at 147.29 miles per hour – beating the previous record of 9.46 that was set by this same car earlier this year.

For many moons now, the Hellcat Challenger owned by the late John Toutkoushian has held the record for the quickest quarter mile time by any Hellcat-powered Dodge in the world. Back in August, John’s Challenger ran a stunning 9.46 at 145 miles per hour to set the record and while some other cars have gotten very close – the TopCat as it is better known in the Mopar community – led the field.

However, with more Dodge Hellcat cars getting close to the record, Josh Schwartz of High Horse Performance headed back to the track earlier this week to see if he could distance the TopCat from the new contenders, and he did just that.

The New Hellcat Quarter Mile World Record
A couple of days ago, Josh Schwartz of High Horse Performance posted a timeslip on Facebook with the quarter mile time obscured, proclaiming that he had set a new Hellcat record and asking his friends to guess what the time might be. Knowing that the record was a 9.46, I figured that Josh and the crew had taken advantage of the cool air and cut into the 9.30s. To be specific, I guessed that the TopCat Challenger had run a 9.39. but I was actually off by quite a bit.

To my surprise, Josh Schwartz and the HHP Hellcat Challenger owned by the late John Toutkoushian had cut their own record from a 9.46 at 145mph down to a 9.29 at 147mph. Talk about raising the bar for the competition.

Afterwards, I had a chance to talk to Josh Schwartz, driver of the record setting Hellcat Challenger and the tuning mastermind behind the world’s quickest Dodge Hellcat car. He filled me in on the full list of modifications which made this record possible.

Building the World’s Quickest Hellcat
First up, I should start by pointing out that the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat built by HHP is still running the stock engine block, the stock cylinder heads, along with the stock supercharger – although there has been some porting done inside of the supercharger housing.

To increase the power output, this Hellcat Challenger has been fitted with ATI and Metco pulleys, a full ARH exhaust system, a Nitrous Outlet plate kit with a 75 jet, an HHP 1500hp custom fuel system and the entire system was tuned with a Diablosport CMR by HHP Racing and HEMITUNER Performance to run in VP Fuels Q16 race gas.

Next, to handle the extra power, this Hellcat Challenger has a Driveshaft Shop 9” rear differential conversation with high strength axles and a carbon fiber driveshaft, along with a set of HHP Ultra Lite Drag Rims by Bogart wrapped in Mickey Thompson drag radials.
Finally, so that the car is legal to run in the low 9-second range, this Hellcat Challenger is fitted with a HHP/BES roll cage and a parachute.(More on Page 2)

So the world’s quickest Hellcat Challenger has pulleys, a little nitrous, an exhaust system, a big fuel system, a great tune on race gas, a new rear differential, and sticky tires.

Oh, and very skilled driver.

The video below shows several runs from the night that the TopCat Hellcat Challenger set the record, including a few “slower” runs and finishing up with the record run – along with a short interview with Josh Schwartz.

Crank up your speakers and enjoy this piece of Mopar muscle car history – as the first Hellcat Challenger runs in the 9.2X range.

Image above captured from the included video.