It's been an open secret for nearly a year that Chrysler has been tinkering with a supercharged V-8 code-named Hellcat.
Automotive News reported the 6.2-liter Hellcat's existence in May 2013, when we said that it would rival the power of the larger V-10 in the SRT Viper and would debut in the next-generation Dodge Challenger. But in the April issue of Hot Rod magazine, SRT brand boss Ralph Gilles described a debate raging inside Chrysler.
Said Gilles: "We have a situation where, you know -- we may have a situation -- where the flagship car is not the most powerful car in our arsenal ... how do we explain that to ourselves? So we have an internal horsepower race as well as an external one."
That flagship car, the Viper, has a naturally aspirated engine with a 660-hp rating.
So how powerful might the Hellcat be?
If the SRT Challenger is to climb back into a horsepower fight with the lighter Ford Mustang GT500 and the 580-hp Chevy Camaro ZL1, it's reasonable to assume it would need a much more powerful V-8 -- perhaps one with a three-digit horsepower rating that starts with a 7.
For perspective, in terms of power, that's V-12 Lamborghini Aventador territory.
