Should Ford and Chevy Build Hellcat Competitors?

BOLD RIDE

Posted by Jeff Perez 
 

 

                               

 

We get it, the Dodge Challenger Hellcat is really cool and really fun and really powerful. But as the hype over America’s most powerful muscle car starts to dwindle, we wonder, are Ford and Chevy chomping at the bit to challenge the Hellcat even more? We sure hope so.

With Dodge proving that powerful muscle cars are still relevant in today’s market, it could make sense for Chevy and Ford to make a push at pursuing the poweful Hellcat. But the question for Ford and Chevy is how do they make it work?



Ford Mustang

Obviously, the Ford Mustang is one of the Dodge Challenger’s main competitors. And while Ford has never shoved more than 662 horses in a Shelby Mustang from factory, we regularly see 800, and even 1,000-horsepower variants seemingly coming from nowhere.

But truth is, Ford doesn’t even need to try that hard to beat the Hellcat. The 662 horses on the 2014 Shelby Mustang just need a slight bump to keep up with everything the Hellcat has to throw at it.

 Currently, the 2014 Shelby Mustang gets to 60 mph in about 3.7 seconds, while the Hellcat does it in about 3.5. So it’s not all that crazy to imagine a slightly more powerful Shelby taking on the Hellcat, and winning. That is, is Ford decides to keep the GT500 around with its new generation.



Chevrolet Camaro

With the 580-horsepower Camaro ZL1 topping the model range, Chevy has some ground to make up if they want to catch the Hellcat. That is, if they want to at all.

A supercharged V8 would obviously be the answer, and with somewhere under 700 horses. But we can’t imagine Chevy charging less than six figures for such a machine, considering the 500-horsepower Z/28 is already at $75,000.

Of course, both of these options are hypothetical. But if near 700 horsepower Mustangs and Camaros don’t get you excited, then I’m not sure what will.

UPDATE: Ok, since a lot of people are asking — yes, technically the Shelby GT500 and ZL1 are in competition with the Hellcat. I understand that. But Ford has since built a new Mustang for 2015, which doesn’t have a Shelby variant as of yet. Should they make one to keep up with the Hellcat?

And should Chevy build a more powerful ZL1 to get it up to Hellcat performance? Or stick with the track-proven Z/28 and not even chase Hellcat?