Yahoo Autos The Only Reason This Hellcat Beats a Camaro ZL1 Is Its Automatic Transmission
Despite a 57-horsepower gap, the 707-hp Dodge Charger Hellcat and the 650-hp Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 are extremely well-matched on the drag strip. The lighter Camaro bests the Hellcat's power-to-weight ratio, and it's equipped with wider tires front and rear. In this case, a drag battle is really decided by one variable–the gearbox.
Texas tuner John Hennessey matched up an automatic-equipped Dodge Challenger Hellcat against a manual-equipped Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for a rolling-start drag race. Both cars are factory stock, and the results are close. The Hellcat manages to edge out the Camaro, but that's almost entirely thanks to its automatic gearbox-the ZL1 wasn't equipped with Chevy's new 10-speed auto, but with the standard six-speed stick.
In each of the three runs shown, the ZL1 initially keeps pace with the Hellcat, until the driver goes to change gear. All those milliseconds the ZL1 loses with every shift add up to a full car-length margin of victory for the Hellcat.
So, the Hellcat officially wins, but arguably, the ZL1 is the more impressive car here. If the Camaro had an automatic gearbox, it would be easy to imagine a dead heat between the two. And if you were to take this battle onto a road course, the Hellcat driver probably wouldn't see where the ZL1 went.
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