797hp Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye Review | Too Crazy For The UK? | 4K

Rory reviews the Redeye version of the Hellcat in the UK to figure out if this left hand drive, 797hp beast of a car can ever be used as a daily car.

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[macmac]

love how he does commentary. points out the negative without humiliating the car. shows all sides of owning one. pros and cons.

[Hellcat-pgpq]

I've had my Hellcat since 2015 and am amazed every time I drive it

[chiemekaa]

And at 2.7L, the supercharger alone is bigger than most passenger cars' in Europe!

[noisyboy]

I’ve just got back from the states last week, where I rented an SRT straight from the airport. The first thing I did was stop off at a Seven11, bought a pack of Marlboro lights, a Zippo and played “It’s so easy by Willie DeVille whilst cruising down the I95 headed westward. I literally felt like Kurt Russell.

[haulesyo]

Sometimes, Rory's genius actually creates gravity. 😂😉

[MannyMetsikas]

I have had 911 turbos, BMW M5s, and many other sports cars. The Hellcat put a smile on my face each and every time that I got behind the wheel. It was the most fun car to drive that I have ever owned, and I am looking to buy a Redeye soon.

[Ashton]

Finally someone that has done a proper uk drive in a hellcat thank you!

[superrones]

As a hellcat owner, I didn't realize how massive the car was until I bought it home and parked it in the garage next to my wife's MB and its actually wider and longer.

[reddfoxx]

Hellcat is a blast to drive and sliding around corners in this thing is effortless. Gonna miss it and the legendary whine from the supercharger.

[hsimpson]

Boss move in the drive-thru. This car is a literal middle finger to everyone and everything. 'MERCA 🇺🇲

[DroneStrike]

That was fun to watch. I still smile when I see one on the road. It's so old school muscle compared to current cars.

[dallasfrost]

American Muscle is easily my favorite type of vehicles. Love the way they look, sound, and perform. Nothing but pure badass. These rides are quite expensive here in N.Z, that said I have seen quite a few Charger & Challenger Hellcats around. Can't help but notice them 🇺🇲💪

[harleyquebecenrevue]

Hooligan car at its best ! Well under engineered American car. 10 miles a gallon and 2 sets of rear tires per season. We absolutely love this car !!

[vida_en_ruedas]

Keep making content about muscle cars in the UK. They're fun to watch. You should rev the car on the streets 😆

[gpaje]

MPG is based on the US 3.8L gallon on that trip computer. You need to add 20% to get the equivalent UK rating.

[adammccartan-mooney]

Drove the normal Challenger down the West coast of the US in 2017. It was great fun but wanted the V8. Didnt seem that big then but the roads are HUGE. Still want a Hellcat despite the drawbacks in the UK.

[VerryJerry]

The rear seats actually fits americans so I was surprised when Rory said they were useless

[relaxing_white_noises_by_j]

Love the video! For all those in the comments in the UK and elsewhere. The yellow protectors on the front of Challengers and Chargers were intended for shipping. Some people in the US intentionally keep the guards on for the look. Dodge even changed the protectors to pink and some still choose to keep them on the front of the cars. It's a personal preference. A lot of people do remove them though.

[aviatorzfretz]

Whether red eye or a basic challenger I always said if I had a dollar for every challenger I’ve seen on the streets I could buy a challenger. It used to be a special moment seeing these on the street. Too many people have a challenger, but can’t deny it’s a sexy car

[Angelblue]

I've got a 2017 White Knuckle Hellcat with satin black wrapped bonnet, roof, bootlid and mirrors and white/black 5 spoke 22" wheels. It started out as the "humble" 707 hp spec version, but before it left the States it had what was by then, the fairly common upgrades of pulley wheel replacements (so the supercharger spins faster), larger injectors, exhaust change and remap and was dyno'd out at slightly over 800hp on Super Unleaded, according to the print-out that came with it. So about the same as this Red Eye. I already had an older Challenger SRT8 I thought I'd never sell, but watching a re-run episode of the Grand Tour with Hammond in the red one in Italy sealed it. Traded in the SRT8, sold a kidney, took out a bank loan I couldn't afford and bought it at EXACTLY the right time, sight unseen (other than photos) at the start of lockdown when prices crashed.

Too crazy for the UK? Absolutely. Would make as much sense as your only vehicle as wearing wellington boots to go paddling in the sea. Too wide. Too cumbersome. Can't use it for drive-throughs (reversing is NOT an option - just park up and walk in FFS!) and multi-storey carparks with pay barriers either. Won't fit round the tight turns in most multi-storeys anyway, let alone in a standard carpark space. Just too much car. Undriveable in the Winter, it would probably dissolve in the salt anyway - build quality is, at best, "questionable". And to drive it on narrow country lanes with traffic coming the other way is a bowel-loosening experience. Believe me. I did. Once.

Do I regret it? Will I ever sell it? No and HELL no... Has character and charisma in spades. Many, many spades. It stops traffic wherever it goes (NOT the reason I bought it) and I get nothing but thumbs-up's and big grins wherever I go. Borrowed a friend's Ferrari once for the day and actually got spat at. Literally. It's such a CARTOON of a car in the UK, everyone loves it. Except the lady who extended her right hand as I approached her in a High Street once, who rolled her eyes, extended her arm and waggled her little finger, suggesting (I presume) the willy size of the driver (sadly true) and the need to offset it with such a ludicrous "Look at Me" statement. Which is - again - NOT the reason I bought it.


The looks, the noise - and yes, the grunt - although most of it is bar-room b*ll*cks anyway. A well-driven RS3 (or most other modern hot hatches) would leave me for dust on anything but a long straight road - and 2 tons of inert Canadian steel (sorry to bust the "Detroit" bubble, folks, but that's where mine and very other one was actually nailed together) gets out of shape VERY easily if you are anything less than absolutely respectful to it at ALL times. Years ago, someone else warned me of a Capri 2.8i I'd bought but not yet collected (now THAT dates me) that if I didn't drive it with respect, I'd end up in a ditch. With this - you'd end up over the ditch, through the hedge, across the field and into the tree on the other side of it. YouTube has plenty vids of of US Hellcat owners thinking they could floor the throttle even some way down a dragstrip, and finding out the hard way - they couldn't. Unless they REALLY fancied a tank-slapper, usually ending up in the wall.

But that's not the point. Every time I drive it - which is most weekends in the summer - it's an event. It handles (for such a big, heavy car) surprisingly well. I leave it in "Eco" mode most of the time (yes, really) - I find the 500bhp it's "limited" to more than adequate most of the time, shock, horror. Some guy tested his standard 707hp version in eco mode here on the Tube just out of curiosity (look it up) and got around 5.3 seconds 0-60 - so it's not exactly sluggish. Get mid 20's mpg at 75 on the motorway too (8 speed auto, it's pulling about 1500rpm so a little over tickover) - although Rory is right about the 15mpg bit knocking about. But every now and again - just for the sheer f*ck-offness of it, when the road, traffic and weather conditions are right, I put it in track mode and hoon it (respectfully!!) - and all hell breaks loose. Genuine laugh-out-loud moments still - and you are an awfully long time dead. It's (by a country mile) the biggest self-indulgence I've ever had - and I have to drive something of a sh*tter as my daily (compared to what I could otherwise have) to cover/justify it - but... its been worth every penny. Genuinely love the ol' girl.