Dodge to reveal Hellcat-powered Challenger in Detroit?

On top of all the other performance car debuts slated for next week’s
Detroit Auto Show, we might be able to add one more to the list – the new, supercharged
Hellcat V8 from
Chrysler. According to new reports, the
rumored 640-horsepower mill is likely to cross the Motor City stage in the engine bay of a
Dodge Challenger.

As
AllPar points out, though, there may be more news than just the fire-breathing engine. While we’ve seen
spy photos of the Hellcat testing under the hood of the current
Challenger, there’s a very fair chance that it won’t arrive until the muscle car is refreshed later this year. The question now is whether that refresh will be shown off alongside the new engine in Detroit, or if it’ll be saved, perhaps for the
New York Auto Show.

Other details dug up by
AllPar include potential transmissions for the supercharged engine – the Mopar-minded site is expecting an eight-speed automatic or a Tremec six-speed manual. Prices, meanwhile, could be in the same elevated range as the
Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, at $70,000 to $80,000.

A report from
Motor Trend, meanwhile, is claiming that the new engine will be a 6.2-liter V8, rather than a 6.4 as suggested by
Allpar, and it claims the
new car will simply be called Challenger SRT Hellcat. MT also reports that, while the Challenger,
Charger and
Chrysler 300 all ride on the same platform, it’s likely only the Dodge-branded cars will get the new powertrain, leaving the 300 hanging out to dry.