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If you’re into muscle cars, the racing world, or just a fan of Dodge, there's a good chance you've heard about the Hellcat. This legendary high-performance vehicle first debuted in Dodge Challengers, but as Dodge does, they went crazy and put the Hellcat motor in SUVs, Jeeps, and even some pickup trucks like the Ram 1500.
What's more, over the years the Hellcat has built up a legacy of supercharged greatness you just can't find anywhere else, and we feel it's time to give one of the greatest muscle cars of all time its flowers. In this article we take you through the Hellcat’s legacy, the engine configuration itself, and even where you can buy one, along with aftermarket parts to crank things up even further.
The Hellcat Legacy
The Hellcat’s legacy was thought to be over in 2023, but Dodge recently revealed that there's still some gas in the tank for this motor. Learn about the legacy of the Dodge Challenger Hellcat, along with the other models that the platform gave birth to along the way.
Exploring The Hellcat’s Roots
To immerse yourself in the Hellcat legacy you have to take a trip back in time to 2015, which is when the Hellcat made its debut. The first iteration was the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, and boy did this car explode onto the scene – almost immediately.
Not only did it come with unique badging and plenty of style upgrades, but it was equipped with a 6.2-liter V8 HEMI engine capable of producing 707 horsepower and 650 lb.-ft. of torque. In fact, this car came out during some of the most heated muscle car wars of the 21st century and blew the competition out of the water with the most powerful factory engine ever made.
The Hellephant Is Born
Let's just say the proof of concept was a success because from 2015-2017 the Hellcat became a staple in the car community, and Dodge would continue to improve on this vehicle and cement its legacy. In 2017 and 2018, for example, the Challenger Hellcat remained pretty much the same, but Dodge was cooking up a diabolical Hellephant crate engine.
This monster was a 7-liter Hemi V8 that made 1,000 horsepower and about 950 lb.-ft. of torque, which made it the most powerful engine ever offered by Mopar. In 2018 the Hellcat motor also started to creep its way into the rest of Dodge’s lineup with innovations like the 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Track Hawk.
The Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye Awakens
After seeing that the fans loved their high-horsepower Hellcat platform, Dodge released a performance version in 2019, known as the Dodge Challenger Redeye. This upgraded version of the Hellcat has the same signature 6.2-liter V8 engine, but it was cranked up to almost 800 horsepower. Some work was also done to the suspension, which helped it cruise to a sub-11-second quarter mile – something most factory cars never reach.
This is also when Dodge introduced the widebody options, which had more curves that helped it stand out even further from standard Hellcats and the rest of Dodge’s SRT lineup.
The Redeye Super Stock Runs Circles Around the Competition
While Dodge cooled down a bit in 2020, this wasn't the last time that the Hellcat would receive a few upgrades. In 2021, the Redeye Super Stock was born, which was a track-focused Hellcat that made up to 807 horsepower. The suspension was also fine-tuned for drag racing, and it was able to do a quarter mile in roughly 10.5 seconds; it was immediately the fastest production muscle car you could buy.
New Hope
While Dodge announced the end of an era when they stopped making Hellcat Challengers in 2023, the legacy isn't quite over yet because a breath of fresh air has reached the platform with the announcement of the 2025 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat.
Fun Fact: Dodge almost canned the Dodge Challenger Hellcat because the engine was too powerful, expensive, and impractical, which is ironic because, over the last decade, they've put Hellcat engines in just about anything from SUVs to Jeeps.
Supercharged Thunder
We've covered the legacy of the Hellcat, but now it's time to delve even deeper into what makes this platform so special, which is its supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V8 engine.
This massive engine produces enough power on its own to spike your heart rate behind the wheel, but with the addition of the 2.4-liter supercharger, the amount of air that flows through this engine will blow your mind, quite literally. With 11.6 pounds of boost this thing screams the second you rev it, and you'll feel every bit of power behind the wheel. In fact, the Hellcat platform is known for its signature supercharger whine that you won't find anywhere else.
If that's not enough for you, though, you can install something like the Nitrous Outlet 00-10169-W-15 Dodge 2015-2023 6.2L Hemi Hellcat Whipple 3.0 Blower Spacer to squeeze even more power out of Dodge’s signature Whipple supercharger. Cold air intakes, throttle body upgrades, and plenty of other parts and accessories are also available to help you mold your Hellcat into the perfect machine for you.
Unlike other muscle cars, the Hellcat is no mindless brute, and we need to point this out. Sure, it goes fast in a straight line, but it's one of the few supercharged muscle cars that can corner a turn with ease. Even when the platform was put into something like the 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Track Hawk, Dodge showed how precisely they can tune a suspension for track performance.
Where To Buy A Hellcat
Curious about where you can find the legendary Hellcat motor? Well, you can find these motors in Dodge Challengers, Jeep Grand Cherokees, Ram pickups, and even Dodge Durangos over the last decade. You'll have to check with local dealerships because Dodge doesn't make many new ones, aside from the 2025 Durango. These dealerships will likely have limited inventories, so you might also have to try your luck with private sellers.
But what if you didn't have to shop around at different dealers or purchase a used Hellcat that's likely been abused by the previous owner? That's where JEGS comes into play. Not only can we help you modify your Hellcat with all the parts and accessories you need, but we also carry the Mopar Accessories Hellcrate 6.2-liter Supercharged Gen III Hemi Crate Engine. As long as you have the space under the hood and the suspension parts that can handle 707 horsepower, you can drop this monstrosity into just about anything!
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