How Hennessey Lifts the Dodge Challenger Hellcat to 852hp

Hennessey Performance has long been one of the biggest names in the world of American aftermarket performance and while the Hennessey name is most recently known for the company’s work with General Motors products, the Texas tuner has announced their first packages for the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat – and they sound very enticing.

Over the past few years, Hennessey has offered various packages for the Ford Mustang, the Chevrolet Camaro, the Chevrolet Corvette and a great many other American vehicles that sport names like HPE650, HPE700 and so on, with the higher numbers indicating more power and serving as the premium packages while the lower numbered packages are closer to stock.

Since the Hellcat Challenger has 707 stock horsepower, the “base” package from Hennessey for the new Mopar muscle car is the HPE800, followed up by the HPE850. What is most impressive about these two new Hennessey Performance packages is how little the tuner needed to ad to bulk up the power figures.

HPE800 Hellcat Challenger
The base package from Hennessey for the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is the HPE800 package, which offers 805 horsepower and 6,200rpm. This increased power output is achieved by adding a new engine control unit, a high flow air filter, a bottom pulley upgrade and a port matched throttle body. This setup allows for better air flow and 1-2 more pounds of boost while the ECU upgrade allows Hennessey to optimize the engine output to 805 horsepower with very minimal modifications.

The HPE800 kit also adds embroidered headrests, Exterior Hennessey and HPE800 emblems, a serialized dash plaque and a serialized plaque in engine compartment.

The pricing for the Hellcat Challenger HPE800 hasn’t been announced, but considering the minimal modifications needed to create this package, the cost should be relatively low compared to other, more elaborate packages with 805 horsepower.

HPE850 Hellcat Challenger
If you need even more power from your 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat than what is offered in stock or HPE800 form, Hennessey also has the HPE850 package. This package lifts the output to 852 horsepower and it does so with all of the same components of the HPE800 package plus a specially ported supercharger housing and a unique engine tune that works with the added air flow of the new blower housing.

Hennessey hasn’t offered up any footage of the HPE-equipped Hellcat Challenger in action, but they have introduced the video below showing their Challenger test car on the dyno in stock form – keeping us waiting for the wheel horsepower figures in the future.

Regardless of the cost or output of the Hellcat Challenger with the HPE80 or HPE850 packages, the minimal amount of modification needed to make 805-852hp shows just how awesome the new Hellcat Hemi is, and with Hennessey making 852hp without replacing any actual components of the engine aside from the lower pulley, we can be sure to see a big power package from Hennessey for the mighty Hellcat Challenger in the near future.