Eighteen seconds through the below Fast 9/Dodge commercial you can see what looks like a Durango fender with a Hellcat logo badge on it. And that is weird because there is no Durango Hellcat. There is a Durango SRT with the 6.4-liter naturally aspired V8 that makes 475 horsepower. I just drove one and I almost loved it – more on that soon.
But would Hellcat-ing a Durango be a good idea for Dodge?
Sure. Why not. The chassis can easily accommodate it. The drivetrain would be identical to the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. Everything is already there. It’s basically a straight-up engine swap with the parts that are already available. I would go as far to say that marketing costs would surpass the engineering costs on this. And we all know that the RAM pickup with Hellcat power is coming, why not combine the efforts? And the aging Durango could sure use an injection of life into it.
The timing works great with the Fast 9 introduction, too. When the Hellcat Demon was introduced at the 2017 New York Auto Show, Vin Diesel was there to pull the cover off it. So why not repeat it? The New York Auto Show is on the second week of April this year – perfect timing.
Another reason to do this – why not send a great engine away in a great way? The Durango, Charger, and Challenger are all aging and will be replaced soon, or already should have been replaced. The days are numbered for huge V8 engines, especially supercharged ones. The fuel mileage these things get is eye-watering. Even the Durango SRT had trouble getting more than a dozen miles from a gallon when driven my way. That cannot be good for FCA’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy.
HELLCAT. ALL. THE. THINGS. While you still can…
This is a picture of the Durango SRT fender I drove recently. Looks similar, no?
Source: Road & Track
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