Faster than a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk the Durango SRT Hellcat is easily the coolest people mover on the planet.
Here’s what happens when engineers spend too much time on their own. Meet the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat. Yep, it’s a people mover with a 6.2-litre supercharged Hellcat V8 engine that’ll get to 96km/h in 3.5 seconds and nails the quarter mile in 11.5 seconds at 180mph. And it will only be available for one year.
“The Brotherhood of Muscle includes families of all sizes and the Durango delivers Dodge performance as the Charger of the three-row SUV segment,” said Tim Kuniskis, Global Head of Alfa Romeo and Head of Passenger Cars – Dodge, SRT, Chrysler and FIAT, FCA – North America. “And new for 2021, we have raised the bar even higher. The 710-horsepower Hellcat is the most powerful SUV ever. It’s the last piece of the puzzle and, alongside the Charger and Challenger, completes the Dodge brand’s performance lineup.”
The mild-mannered people mover has been totally worked over. And it all begins with a new front-end design, a new splitter, updated engine oil cooler duct, air guide and snorkel for cold air induction. A new, unique rear spoiler creates an improved aerodynamic balance, resulting in a massive increase in rear downforce of more than 400% (140lbs at 180mph).
SRT engineers upgraded the Durango SRT Hellcat to improve handling, including Brembo brakes and upgraded suspension that have improved damper rebound control by 20%, stiffer damper top mounts and reduced understeer by 2.5%.
It also gets SRT Drive offering different driving modes including Track. The exhaust system has been tuned to deliver the throaty, aggressive sound “that lets bystanders know this three-row muscle car is something special and distinctly Dodge”. The changes include the addition of a 260-millimeter crossover X-pipe, the largest X-pipe in the SRT lineup, to the twin-pipe exhaust.
This nutter won’t be available beyond the US. Shame. Because who wouldn’t want a seven-seat monster like this parked on the driveway.
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