A stock Dodge Challenger SRT8 and a numbers-matching 1970 340 Six Pack Challenger T/A run six straight quarter-mile races, swapping drivers for the final two to separate skill from machine. According to an owner of both cars, the SRT8 trapped 107 mph while the vintage T/A, running on a worn original transmission, hit 115.90 mph. See how a fifty-year-old sleeper kept pace with a modern factory performance car.
A modern Challenger with a factory warranty and a 1970 original built before anti-lock brakes existed shouldn’t be a fair fight, at least not on paper — until you learn one of the drivers behind the wheel had never driven a manual transmission at a drag strip before that day. Six runs decided this one, and in the final two the drivers actually swapped cars, turning a simple new-versus-old comparison into a test of skill versus machine. One car scales in comfortably under two tons; the other reportedly still has enough top end to clear 170 mph completely stock. The numbers that came out of this matchup surprised almost everyone who owns either car. Which one actually crossed the line first when everything was on the line?
Why Road Test TV Set Up a Six-Run Format
Rather than settling this comparison with a single pass, Road Test TV ran the Challenger SRT8 and the 1970 340 Six Pack Challenger T/A across six separate quarter-mile races, with the final two runs swapping drivers between the two cars specifically to separate car performance from driver skill. That structure matters because a single race can be decided by launch technique alone, especially when one driver is more experienced than the other — running it six times, with a driver swap built in, gives a much clearer picture of what each car is actually capable of under real conditions.
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The Modern Car’s Numbers, According to Its Owner
A commenter who says he owns both cars featured in this video laid out real specifics: the SRT8, powered by Dodge’s roughly 425-horsepower 6.1-liter engine, ran completely stock apart from a cold air intake, weighed 4,080 pounds without a driver, and was riding on worn tires during filming. Behind the wheel was his girlfriend, driving stick at a drag strip for the first time — once she found the right clutch technique to avoid wheelspin off the line, the car ran a 13.30 at 107 mph. He also noted the SRT8 will reportedly clear 170 mph stock and returns around 24 mpg in regular driving, numbers that read more like a daily driver than a purpose-built strip car.
The Vintage T/A’s Numbers Tell a Different Story
The 1970 340 Six Pack Challenger T/A, by contrast, is described as a numbers-matching sleeper running W2 cylinder heads, a small roller camshaft, its original — and by now well-worn — transmission and shifter, 3.91 rear gears, drag radials, and unmodified factory suspension with no traction aids of any kind. Despite weighing in at 3,525 pounds without a driver and running on genuinely aged original components, it trapped 115.90 mph, a speed the owner says suggests the car is capable of low-11-second quarter miles with a clean launch. That combination of vintage hardware and modern-competitive trap speed is exactly what made this matchup worth six full runs instead of one.
Why the 340’s Reputation Made This a Fair Fight at All
Commenters were quick to point out that the 340-cubic-inch small block had a fearsome reputation in the early 1970s specifically because it revved hard and made real power for its displacement, memorably described by more than one viewer as a motor that would take your lunch money against bigger-displacement rivals that couldn’t keep up in the higher rev ranges. That reputation is exactly why a 1970 340 T/A holding its own against a modern SRT8 didn’t come as a total shock to Mopar people familiar with the engine’s history, even if the specific trap speeds still surprised plenty of viewers who hadn’t done the math themselves.
What the Driver Swap Actually Revealed
Swapping drivers for the final two runs was the most telling part of this format, since it isolated how much of each car’s performance depended on the person behind the wheel rather than the machine itself. A driver unfamiliar with a stick-shift launch, as the SRT8’s regular driver was going in, can easily lose several tenths or more off a run through wheelspin or a slow shift, which is exactly what played out before she adjusted her technique. That detail is a useful reminder that raw quarter-mile numbers from any single run should always be read alongside who was actually driving.
Why the Old Car’s Weight Advantage Still Matters
At 3,525 pounds without a driver, the T/A gives up nothing to the SRT8’s 4,080-pound curb weight, and that roughly 550-pound gap is doing real work in the T/A’s favor even before accounting for its 3.91 gearing and drag radials. Modern muscle cars have grown significantly heavier over the decades thanks to safety equipment, sound deadening, and creature comforts that a 1970 T/A simply never carried, and this race is a clear demonstration of how much a lighter, simpler car can still compete against far newer, more powerful equipment when the weight difference is this pronounced.
Why Viewers Were Surprised the Vintage Car Kept Pace
Plenty of commenters openly admitted they expected the modern SRT8, with its factory warranty, fuel injection, and far newer suspension technology, to handle the vintage T/A without much of a contest — and were surprised to see a 50-year-old car with a worn original transmission trap over 115 mph on drag radials with zero traction control. That reaction speaks to how much modern muscle car marketing leans on the assumption that new automatically means faster, an assumption this particular six-race format did a lot to complicate.
What This Matchup Says About Both Cars’ Legacies Today
A stock, warrantied SRT8 and a numbers-matching original T/A ending up this close across six runs — with a driver swap built in to keep things honest — is exactly the kind of comparison that keeps both eras of Challenger relevant to the same audience. It reinforces why the 340 Six Pack still carries real weight among Mopar people decades after its introduction, and why a modern SRT8 remains a genuinely quick, usable performance car despite carrying hundreds of extra pounds. Road Test TV’s format gave both cars a fair chance to prove exactly that, and the comment section made clear that debate over the result is far from settled.
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old
New
The 70 T/A is a way cooler car from every aspect but I am sure the new one will outrun it !
Bingo!
New
Well i watched a race same kinda cars and the old won
HaHa.. Old School kicks it in either lane.
What an embarrassment. New can’t hold a candle to the original.
The ’70 is a drag car folks. The stock version of the ’70 couldn’t beat the 6 cyl version of a new challenger. Look it up.
You’re hundred percent right that 70 car definitely had a lot of work done to it far from stock because They don’t run 11 and 12 stock that’s for sure
A stock 340 came with 275 Gross HP. Using todays hp rating standards, it had just a shade over 200. A new stock 6 cyl has around 300. A new 6 cyl Challenger would give an old 440 Challenger a fit on a drag strip and easily out run it on top end.
Amen their Bob. No stock 340. 6 pac will run in the 11s. Infact boot even 12s. So why do these fools want to say old it new. I think both Bei g stock the set 8 would win hands down. I’ve got a new 2018 sxt 8 speed auto that will run 14 s all day . The difference is that new cars have a truer h.p. and torque reading to the real wheels than the old cars
The new SRT8 is 475 true HP as you say. It should run at least in the upper 11s to lower 12s all day long.
I got a v6 rated at 305 hp. Haven’t tried too hard but 0-60 I got 6.3 seconds. From an idle.
Yeah Gary, cars have gotten steadily faster and faster over the past 4 to 5 decades. Most folks don’t realize that there are many new 300 Hp grocery getters out there today that would smoke about any STOCK muscle car from back in the day. Case and point, my 3.6 L 4 door 2013 Impala is rated at 305 net hp. It is also capable of 0 to 60 in 5.8 secs. with a weight of about 3600 lbs. By comparison my ’71 454 Chevelle in stock trim is supposed to go 0 to 60 in 6.2 secs. By the way, the Chevelle weighs less than the Impala. Cool factor, the Chevelle rocks it. For power, comfort, and economy, the 21st century rides are literally decades ahead in more ways than just youth.
Stock 392 hemi challengers/chargers hit mid to high 12’s/low 13’s..although it takes very little to get them in the mid 11 range. A hot tune and drag radials would get them in the high 11’s with a good driver..the current 5.7 challengers/chargers struggle to break 14’s/high 13’s.
Yup the 70 is far from stock but even today’s rubber on a 70 car would be good for a few 10ths in the quarter. This one clearly has some sort of 4 link or other traction aid and is geared somewhere around the 4:10 range ( nor sure what the Danas had for gear). Stock, the 3 two barrels badly needed some “tuning” but the real “kicker” here is the SRT8 weighs about 4100 -4200 lbs at least and the 70 with a 340 was probably around 3400-3600 lbs. That missing 500-600 lbs is like 100 hp right there. That and the guy who ran the SRT8 in the first four races bogged, and didn’t know how to shift. ( guy in the 70 missed banging 2nd or 3rd there once too).
Probably the SRT8 was running street tires as well so the “bogging” was probably his car running up against the traction control. I also didn’t see a burnout from the new one. Either way, a stock ’70 340 even with a 6 pack has less than half the net hp of the SRT8 so the 500 lbs or so weight difference is probably not that significant.
Does anyone actually believe that a stock six pack TA would run a 12 flat? Max wedge cars did not run that. Good grief
FYI folks, 1970 Challenger 340 six pack performance specs, 0-60 mph 7.0 secs, quarter mile 15.2 seconds. A modern stock Challenger SRT8 runs high 11s to low 12s.
That 340 motor is one bad ass small block. I had a buddy that had a 71 cuda 340, 4 bbl, he put some big tube hooker headers and electronic ignition, it was really fast.
But they won’t turn 11s. Stock. I’ve seen too many run yes their bad ass not that bad ass stock.
I had a friend that worked at a high performance shop. He told me that the 340 motor was a great motor, modified to make good power.
340 was chosen for T/A for a reason
Gear ratio, Along with some other Mods.
If I remember the TA dipped into the 11s on a pass.
Far from box 1970 stock
I’ll take the old hands down!
That’s what muscle cars were all about.
COOL
My money is on the new Hemi
There is no way in h— that a stock 340 6 pac will turn in the 11s in the quarter. So what was fair about this race. Oh I believe the srt8:was stock but not the 340. Let’s compare apples to apples ok!
And what rear gears in each car ?
Put it up against a 440 six pack Cuda!
Looks like the driver in the SRT8 laid-back
Thank six pack is not stock!! Ray Charles could see that!!
In that car the 6 pk was stock
I know the 6 pack came from the factory , iam saying it’s had some serious tuning on top of.
The T/A 340 was far from stock. a reinforced 4 bolt main block, 10.5 pistons, 1050 cfm carbs, were just some of the stock upgrades. They only made around 2200 of them tho.
Old!
So the old guy still has it….
jeff j
New wins it
A 340 six pack? The new one will win
New old was a boat anchor compared to today’s
You must be kidding. The old one wouldn’t even win with a worked 426 Hemi in it.
Old school
I seen a 340 Carter thermal qued 4 brl 4spd that made pretzels out of driveshafts when it wasn’t snapping the yoke on the rear end. Left front always left the ground and it owned the quarter mile @ 109-112 mph
I didn’t know there was a 340 six pack. I thought they were all 440.
Na, 340’s were small blocks
340s. Are Badass.
yeah the T/A quite rare 70-71
Awesome
Bullshit ! My grandma must be driving the srt8
My 3.7 mustang will do 14 in a quarter! That srt8 must need a driver mod. If not then that’s a really unimpressive car lol
Somebody needs to learn to shift.
Sweet!!
They need two drivers for sure
So they cost that money and suck for speed.
Put the 340 six pack up against the demon!!
Guys, if you’ve ever been in or driven a 70 Challenger with a fresh 340 – you would not doubt this video for a minute! I knew that new sh** couldn’t beat a 340, Haha! What a slug… too bad
Amen to that people who think differently are to young and or obviously know nothing about a real 340 they are bad to the bone
So the old kicked total ass great job
Allyson Barbay
Are you seeing the comments though?
Go back and ck the et 112. For the 70 that’s a bought wright
Ummmm …yeah. No. I like the old school car better,but that 340 was NOT stock,& the new one was
the old scholl wins!!!!!!!!
Old hands down
Sounds like we have a bunch of wet behind the ears that don’t know shit obviously
R/T =340 …. Not a SRT…. Not a Equal Match Up
3 Ducks smallblock singing that sweet song and could do this easy with just a bolt in cam
Some people all pretty gullible if they think a 340 Challenger will run in the 11’s.
And even more gullible if they think the 6.1L 425hp SRT8 will only run mid 14’s. Heck a V-6 Challenger will run upper 14’s.
My ’15 R/T Plus 375hp will run 13.54sec in the 1/4 mile with Nickelback playing through the sound system via Bluetooth from Pandora on my iPhone.
😂😂😂 nope your v6 in a brick shithouse will do no such think, stop reading off the 1/8 mile time sheet.
Jarl Nieminen My wife had a ’15 V-6 Challenger and it run the 1/4 mile in the upper 14 second range.
It’s obvious you’ve never driven an old muscle car or a new one either.
Jarl Nieminen Here’s my ’15 R/T Plus Hemi w/ 6-speed stick.
Jarl Nieminen Here’s one of my Spyder GT.
414 cubic inch stroker 351W 525hp@6,300RPM’s.
anecdotal mate…2 tonne v6 does not do 14sec quarter
it’s obvious you have some nice pictures but are a bullshit artist.
Jarl Nieminen Holy crap dude! Have you ever owned a muscle car?
Jarl Nieminen Apparently not. Your profile says you live in Australia.
Jarl Nieminen Driving the Spyder.
Test drive. Running a little rich and needing more timing.
But depends if they know how to drive it right
Old is better
The 340 was the best small block ever, period.
The 340cc
Here’s a thought folks in 1970 a 340 six pack had J heads 11.00 to 1 compression ratio a factory purple stripe cam in the 4 speed cars ans a 3.90 or 4.11 gear ratio and with a power tune and jetting the carbs and a real good driver they would run in the 11s with good headers and exaust! They were no joke I had a 1971 Demon 340 4 speed that was just wicked
I agree the 340 was the best small block out there you could do so much to those motors
Yes Sir after lots of modifications my 71 Demon ran 11.80s and 11.90s all motor
Old is gold
The old six pack win again
Some of those 340 swingers ran really strong back in the day
I really don’t think the Challenger had a driver that knew what he was doing…
Anyone notice the srt does 104 every time??
Old Challenger
340
My dart had a 340 6 pac
And it was a monster
Good luck to anyone
Love old school
Well you are comparing a computer to American Muscle…..so?
This is why I like the 340s
Bs that SRT 8 would have smoke that old charger everytime. Put some real drivers in those cars
The hesitation of the new one at the start every time. Like they were sandbagging
Old school rules…win or loose
The (Original) challenger hammered the new one all day long .. old is gold
Seth Mayabb
Srt8
That isn’t a stock 340. I had 70 Challenger with a 340 four barrel that would only run at best 14 flat in the quarter.
New one is faster. Old one will last longer
The old one
That depends on the driver