707-hp Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat roars to life as the world's fastest sedan

When it comes to superlatives, particularly with performance cars, they are usually used in conjunction with luxury brands like Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Bentley, Ferrari, and of course, Bugatti. Now along comes scrappy Dodge, first with its 707-hp Challenger SRT Hellcat coupe, the most powerful muscle car on earth, and now with the brutish Charger SRT Hellcat, nothing less than the quickest, fastest, and most powerful production sedan on earth. Apparently, bragging rights are contagious.

Just how quick are we talkin’ here? How does a 3.7-second 0–60 mph time sound? Even more impressive is a quarter mile time of 11 second flat. On street tires. Certified. By the National Hot Rod Association.

That figure is 0.2 seconds quicker through the traps than the kit-kat Challenger, as the Charger apparently uses its 100 pounds of added weight to its advantage. And if you have enough road ahead of you, the Charger SRT Hellcat is said to be able to hit a terminal velocity of 204 mph, edging out the 2015 Aston Martin Rapide S by one mph.

Powering the Charger SRT Hellcat, of course, is the same supercharged 6.2-liter “Hellcat” V-8 in the exact same state of tune: 707 hp at 6,000 rpm and 650 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm, and, not surprisingly, the only transmission is Chrysler’s TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic operated by the same, more natural-feeling T-handle as the Challenger, or if you choose, steering wheel paddle shifters. The Challenger SRT Hellcat, of course, and has proven not only to be spectacularly fast and loud and hedonistically awesome, but also to be eminently drivable, comfortable, and alas, a real car. We expect the same from the Charger Hellcat, given that the Charger is essentially a re-bodied Challenger with a bigger back seat and two more doors.