Admittedly, we are living through the golden age of automobilia. Power can be had in plethora of choices, and a favorite of enthusiasts is undoubtedly the resurgence of the front engine, rear drive vehicle. Here, we have a prime example of why it’s a good time to be an automotive enthusiast. SRT boss Ralph Gilles slapped his go-pro to the side of a 2015 Challenger Hellcat, and chased a Cadillac CTS-V Wagon wearing a pair of slicks. Living the dream.
The Hellcat is more of a dragster than a track machine, but those 707 ponies of supercharged fury close in on the CTS-V’s 556 hp supercharged V8. Gilles explained the game of (Hell) cat and mouse, saying:
“Experimenting with my GoPro3… attempting to capture the HellCat’s incredible baritone fury…then a CTSV on Slicks got into my crosshairs! Was a fun couple of laps chasing him down. The CTSV driver overcooked a few corners (admittedly) as he was driving in his mirrors as the Cat closed in!” You can check out the action in the video below, and see Cadillac’s late-model muscle wagon hold its own while still being down 151 hp.
Comments
What video ???
http://mtrz.us/1nJasLG I found the link on YouTube , slicks or no slicks the hellcat had a hell of a time trying to catch up, if you consider the power difference the V held it’s own
This was very Suspect to me, the person driving the V Wagon kept Breaking a lot and was swinging Extremely Wide in corners!!!! 😉
This video means little. Just more marketing by Chrysler to keep the old car they have viable while GM and Ford are powering up new better updated models.
If Ralph what’s to make a point GM is in Germany right now with the Z06, Z/28 and new 2016 Camaro SS. If he wants to prove something that is where he need to go vs. playing cat and wagon with a random used Cadillac.
I have noted that the immediate impact of the Hellcat was good but of late has gotten lost in the Ford and GM news. This week Chrysler has tried to rekindle the fire of their model in the news but it is pretty much nothing new.
I saw one today that said the Charger could do Z06 numbers if it had drag radials. Well The Z06 could go even faster with Drag Radials too.
This is pre SEMA and Detroit hey look at me time of the year for all the automakers and this year has been a good one.
GM should be back with the Z06 and Z/28 lap times soon and it should make some eye opening news. The Z/28 has proven of late to be the complete package. Motor Trend and Car and Driver has really told the story of this car and how you really could not for the same money it cost build a car as well tuned. Sure you can bolt on a lot of parts but GM has the resources to sort them out in ways most bolt on tuners could never do.
I noted Chrysler has yet to give any real lap times at any track vs. many other cars. This is a sign it is a one trick pony at the drag strip in a multi track car world.
Sorry about that mishap y’all. I provided the Youtube link in this comment below.
That is one sorry video and race. Put Johnny O’Connell or Oliver Gavin in the CTS-V wagon and I guarantee Ralph Gilles would had a hard time catching up to the CTS-V wagon, let alone pass it.
Gilles was waiting for the final ‘KILL” he was just playing with the Caddy !!! As the video shows everyone !!
Sorry GM fanboi’s that make up any excuse possible , those are fine Mopar’s !
Keep saying the Caddy needs a better driver,have a professional racer..Well Gilles isn’t a professional racer he is a suit and tie guy ! Sure he is like the average guy,races cars when he has time..
Those Hellcat Chrysler’s are possibly the best cars ever !! Seriously..My Caddy may be replaced by one in a few years…hell GM still uses the old Chrysler 426 HEMI in Top Fuel and Alchohol Drag Racing !! Along with Ford and Toyota even Monster Trucks and Power boats use a Chrysler 426 HEMI (sure bored out to bigger cubic inches) But you have to say Chrysler knows how to make reliable,powerful engines…I know I wont race one in my CTS-V ! Nor my 70 Pontiac GTO with a mild-street-built 455 that runs high 11’s..hell a stock Mopar 440 (those are not Hemi’s just 12 second 1/4 mile cars with better than 14’ bias ply tires as they were tested new with) always beat me until I redid it.( cars stock,never touched we bought them in the late 70’s no cam changes nothing,no rebuilds ect.3 buddys had 440 mopars,2 had 383’s 7 had gm’s,2 had fords 390/429 I had and still have 70 my gto 455my 69 coronet rt 440)
again for the video,the Caddy was whipped by the Challenger SRT Hellcat….the Dodge was playing with him the whole time…
Lets see it make a lap at the Ring in Germany and just see how well it does before you get all goofy here.
I will be the first to say the engine is very impressive but the platform can not put most of it to the ground. Engine Management takes most of the power out. This car would be just as fast with 150 less HP.
Also don’t confuse the present engine with the past Hemi. They share a similar combustion chamber design and that is about it. The new Chrysler engine has more in common with the Chevy engine than the past 426.
Besides the many race engines in drag racing may be based on the Chrysler but have been totally reworked full on re engineered race engines.
And don’t be silly on many of the 1970’s times as most of these cars were either run under perfect conditions and in many times rigged conditions. They all did it. Even today at the races where they race supposed stock muscle cars cheating is rampant.
The Hellcat is more a cry for attention as Chrysler has no new product yet to replace this heavy outdated beast of a car while Chevy and Ford both have cars that will garner much attention for the next 3-4 years before Chrysler has a replacement in 2018
Before you get too carried away Chrysler is not out of the woods and could still be at major risk. Hell my in-laws just bought a 300 because it is so outdated they are discounting them $8,000-$10,000. Might note too the repeat buyers over there are only 23% and that is doing a lot of damage.
But Enjoy this engine as it is great but there are still a lot of dark clouds at Mopar and it is not tire smoke. Only their Jeeps and Trucks are showing any life.
The in car shows it better. The caddy had no shot, he cooked the brakes and messed up when Ralph got up on him. And slicks are worth 1-3 seconds a lap depending on the car and track. The Viper TA picked up 2 seconds on slicks at Laguna.
http://youtu.be/pezWtLyHEKg
Actually.the driver of the caddy was in the forums laughing…seems he was going wide and trying to get his buddy to catch up to race him….he let Giles go around…too funny.
As for holding its own…I can take my wifes Caddy Escalade and it can ‘hold its own” with my buddies Vette !! Until he really wants to blow my doors off !!
Let’s do an apples to apples comparison. The Hellcat is suppose to be the beast of Chrysler’s pony car. So put a Z-28 in front of it or even a ZL1 and see how it performs.
WOW.. Love how Fanboi Blind people can be.. Instead why don’t you just appreciate a car for what it is and deal with it.. Hellcat Challenger and Charger are Amazing cars.. So is the Camaro and its derivatives.. BOTH ARE BUILD FOR DIFFERENT THINGS.. Camaro boy racer with Amazing potential for some great track days. Challenger is has and always will be (until its inevitable update) a more GT/touring car.. More room, confy ride for long hauls etc etc.. Stupid to just blindly bash a car cause its a “DODGE” or its a “BOAT”.. No one at Chrysler has touted it will stomp a Camaro in handling or anything else in that matter.. It is a bad ass car with serious power that has had some MAJOR improvements on a admittedly older platform.. Things will change for both cars.. Here’s to some Healthy Competition in the next generation of both cars..