DAY 4: The All-American Horsepower Wars

Okay, so it doesn’t quite have the ring as the iconoclastic Star Wars. We get it. But on day four of carsmas, your true love gives to you: the All-American Horsepower Wars!

There was a time in the world of automobiles when it was hard to comprehend a commuter car with a 100hp. A time when the average commuter car probably only pushed out 20 or 30 ponies, a 100hp was probably thought to be insane.

Fast forward to the 2010s and we have problems with pollution and climate change from attempting to burn all of Barney’s ancestors. Emission regulations are all the talk; everything is going green; everything is going electric. 

In such a world, high horsepower petrols shouldn’t technically exist. But they do. It’s wonderful.

In the 2010s, one word brought about a horsepower war between manufacturers – HELLCAT. 

It’s a silly name but that’s what FCA chose to badge the ludicrous cars. And FCA had three kinds.

For those that want retro american muscle car styling in all its glory, the FCA gave us the Dodge Challenger Hellcat. For those that had to haul the rest of the family around the drag strip for the Dodge Charger Hellcat. And for those that wanted a little more ride height and a little more room that the Charger cannot provide, they gave us the Jeep Cherokee Trackhawk.

They were all powered by a 6.2L Supercharged V8 that makes 717hp and 650lb-ft of torque! (WHAAAATT).

They were all built with the drag strip in mind. The Challenger makes it to 60 mph from a standstill in 3.7 seconds and the quarter mile in 11.8 seconds at 125 mph. 

But they didn’t stop there either. They also have the Hellcat Redeye that makes 797 hp. Again, it didn’t stop there because someone at FCA thought that wasn’t enough. Out comes the HELLEPHANT – a 1000hp crate engine that sold out within 48 hours after its release.

The folks from Detroit were not really loving all the noise FCA was making. Enter – the 2020 Ford GT500. With 760hp they strike back. While the GT350 is their weapon for the Germans, Ford wants to take away the FCAs drag strip glory on the drag strip.

The GT500 is still fairly new and people have just started taking deliveries of their cars. We’re yet to see how far they go to take down the Hellcats. 

Will the Hellcats have the last laugh? Will the GT500 be the new king of the quarter mile? Stay tuned folks.

12 Days of Carsmas

That concludes day 4: the All-American Horsepower Wars.

Check in daily as we post a new car for every day of carsmas.

You can see the entire list here: https://mikaniki.com/news/2019/12/the-12-days-of-carsmas/