2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat - best muscle cars

The muscle car revival that began in the early noughties has seen lots of big-hitting V8 models back in showrooms, and the Dodge Challenger has been a leading light of the modern high-performance muscle car.

If we thought the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was over the top with 580bhp, or the Mustang GT500 was outrageous with 650bhp, then the 707bhp pumped out by the 6.2-litre Hemi V8-engined Dodge Challenger Hellcat is simply shocking. Here’s a car that has more power than many supercars, and when fitted with the optional eight-speed paddle-shifted automatic gearbox, the Hellcat can complete the 0-60mph sprint in just 3.6 seconds. 

In true muscle car style it’s cheap too – at least compared to those Supercar rivals – with the sticker price starting at just over $71k in 2024. That translates to just £55k in our money, although the Hellcat isn’t officially sold over here.

If the Hellcat sounds a little mundane, Dodge built some limited-run Challengers with even more power. The SRT Demon, which produces a colossal 840bhp when running on 100-octane fuel. To make the most of the power Dodge supplied Demons with huge drag racing-inspired tyres and two keys – one for everyday use (that actually limits an engine’s power) and one for maximum speed.

For 2019 the SRT Demon was replaced by the SRT Hellcat Redeye with ‘only’ 797bhp but 959Nm of torque and a few other upgrades. But the final hurrah for the Challenger came in its final production year in 2023. The SRT Demon 170 had a faintly ridiculous 1,025bhp and 1,281Nm of torque, a 0-60mph time of 1.66 seconds (allegedly making it the fastest-accelerating production car in the world) and could pull G-forces of 2G under hard acceleration. With so much power on tap, a quarter-mile time of less than nine seconds was achievable, but this made the stock Demon 170 illegal for US-sanctioned competition, because it didn’t come with a roll cage for safety or parachutes to help bring it to a stop.