FCA doubles Hellcat output for MY16
Dodge has opened the dealer order banks for 2016 model year Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcats and insists it has streamlined the process and significantly increasing production to ensure that the fastest, most powerful muscle cars ever made continue to roar off dealer lots.
According to published reports, roughly 900 customers who ordered a 2015 Challenger or Charger SRT Hellcat that did not get their hands on one will have that order cancelled and be placed back in the queue with a promise to pay the 2015 price for the 2016 version.
Demand across North America for the Brampton-built units was immense and may have caught the automaker off guard. Soon after orders opened for the 2015 model, stories of dealers over ordering the cars began to surface as consumer demand intensified.
Several U.S. dealers reportedly took deposits and ordered far more than they would ever have been given through normal product allocation.
Dodge reps in the U.S. said they have adjusted the allocation and ordering methods for MY16 to avoid similar problems moving forward.
Dodge brand chief Tim Kuniskis told Automotive News in July that numbers would be based on the total number of Dodge vehicles a dealer sells in a given period. Dealers will also be told how many Challenger and Charger Hellcats they will get from when production starts in September as well as their “total potential allocation for the year.”
Dealers will not be permitted to place orders above their given allocation. Any dealers that don’t move the units quickly also run the risk of loosing future production allocation.
FCA would not confirm how many additional units will be pumped out of the Ontario facility this fall other than noting it would be “a lot more.”
The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is the fastest, most powerful muscle car ever, thanks to the supercharged Hemi Hellcat V8 engine, which delivers an unprecedented 707 hp and 650 lb/ft of torque.
The 6.2-litre V8 is also the first factory-built supercharged Hemi. The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat also is the fastest muscle car ever with a National Hot Rod Association-certified ¼-mile elapsed time of 11.2 seconds with stock Pirelli P Zero tires.
With drag radials, the ¼-mile run dropped to just 10.8 seconds.
Taking the performance sedan world by storm, the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat features the supercharged 6.2-litre Hemi Hellcat -8 engine that produces 707 hp and 650 lb/ft of torque, a top speed of 204 miles per hour, and a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA)-certified, quarter-mile elapsed time of 11.0 seconds on stock Pirelli P Zero tires, making it the quickest, fastest and most powerful production sedan in the world.
- With files from Automotive News
