2015-08-18

[ TopSpeed.com ]

2015 Dodge Charger Hellcat HPE800 By Hennessey

Since its inception in the early 1990s, Hennessey Performance Engineering has been looking for ways to improve vehicles from just about every brand available in the U.S, including GM, Ford, Chrysler, Ferrari, Porsche, and McLaren. The Texas-based company even managed to set an unofficial world record record for street-legal cars with the Hennessey Venom GT, a heavily modified 2015 Lotus Exige S Club Racer that hit 270.49 mph. Now, about a year after Dodge launched the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, the world's fastest, quickest, and most powerful sedan, Hennessey announced plans to develop an upgrade package for Mopar's four-door muscle car.

Meet the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat HPE800, the sedan that promises to be as quick and powerful as a Ferrari supercar, yet cost less than $100,000.

The Charger Hellcat adds to Hennessey extensive lineup of modified American cars, which includes vehicles from Cadillac, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, and even GMC. Keep reading for the full rundown and stay tuned for updates as well be back as soon as we have them.

Hennessey-prepped have never been about exterior upgrades, and the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is no exception to that rule. All body panels are just like they came from the factory and the only exterior add-ons you get from shop are the "Hennessey" emblem on the trunk lid and the "HPE800" badges just above the side skirts. The cool "Hellcat" logos are still present on the front fenders, if you're nuts for details. Though this model is finished in black, you can have the Hellcat HPE800 in any color available for the sedan, as Hennessey won't meddle with the paint that comes from the factory.

All told, the Hellcat retains its mild sleeper appearance even with the Hennessey updates, and the majority of people likely won't notice the "HPE800" and "Hellcat" logos at first glance. If you love the Charger Hellcat for being inconspicuous, you'll probably feel the same about the HPE800.

On the inside, the Charger SRT Hellcat HPE800 is as stock as they get, with only two exceptions: A pair of Hennessey embroidered head rests replace the standard units, and the dashboard receives a serial numbered plaque. The good news here is that the sedan's interior is packed with all sorts of sporty goodies, such as a flat-bottomed, SRT steering wheel and bolstered front seats.

As you might have already guessed, this is where Hennessey does its magic, by tuning the Hellcat's supercharged, 6.2-liter V-8 beyond the 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque provided by the stock engine.

Why? Simply because there's no such thing as too much horsepower at John Hennessey's shop in Texas. By adding a new ECU, a high-flow air filter, a port-matched throttle body, upgraded tuning software and lower pulley, Hennessey managed to squeeze a whopping 805 horsepower from the Hemi engine, which is 98 horses more than the stock sedan.

There's no word on performance figures yet, but it's safe to assume the HPE800 needs only 2.8 seconds to hit 60 mph, making it a tenth-second quicker than the standard Hellcat. Also, the Hennessey-prepped four-door should need less than 11 seconds to run the quarter-mile. Given SRT doesn't limit the top speed of its cars, the HPE800 could max out at more than 204 mph.

Well, it looks like the fastest, quickest and most powerful sedan on the market has just been given supercar powers.

No word on pricing for this beast, but expect this upgrade to add at least $20K to the Charger Hellcat's $63,995 sticker. Knowing Hennessey, the HPE800 won't be built in more than 50 units. That's a big challenge anyway, as Dodge is still struggling to meet demand for Hellcat-powered Chargers and Challengers.