Dodge is upping the high performance ante this year with the 2021 Durango SRT Hellcat, and the 2021 Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye. We were fortunate enough to get invited to North Carolina where we got to take both of these powerhouses on a leisurely cruise through the countryside, as well as put them through their paces on the track. 

The Durango SRT Hellcat is the most powerful SUV ever delivering 710 hp and 646 lb-ft of torque. That just barely edges out Jeep’s Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. But like the Jeep, all that power comes from a supercharged 6.2 liter HEMI Hellcat V8 that is paired with a quick shifting TorqueFlite 8 speed automatic transmission.

On the open road this 3 row SUV is extremely comfortable, and when you have the drive mode set for Street the power is very well managed and is just fine as a daily driver. When everything is switched to Sport or Track mode, this Durango becomes a different animal. 

While on the track there was a constant thought of, “A SUV should not be capable of handling like this!” Blasting through the curves, the ride was both exhilarating and impressive.

Now we shift gears to the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye, and a claim of being the most powerful and fastest production sedan available today...sensing a theme here? This powerhouse delivers 797 hp and 707 lb-ft of Torque. That’s right, with the Redeye treatment a jump from the Charger Hellcat’s 717 to almost 800 hp, thus keeping up with the Challenger Redeye coupe. 

To help put that power to the pavement, the Redeye boasts the aggressive widebody that first made its way to the Charger Hellcat for the 2020 model year. This 3.5 inches of added width allows more rubber for the road, and it does not go unnoticed. Like the Durango, this Charger does surprisingly well on the street as a daily driver, but the real fun comes on the track. It just stays incredibly fixed to the pavement. Clearly gone are the days when American muscle only went fast in a straight line. The engineers at Dodge have put in a lot of work to make sure that this track ready car can take on any track.

Coming to a showroom near you the 2021 Durango SRT Hellcat will start at $80,995 and the 2021 Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye will start at $78,595. With so much power for a price like that, these two vehicles are a huge bang for your buck! For a more detailed look at both of these Hellcats, keep it locked, here on MotorWeek.

 

Specifications

  • Durango SRT Hellcat:
  • Horsepower: 797
  • Torque: 707 lb-ft.
  • Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye: