Dodge Challenger 2016 Hellcat Burnout & 0-60 MPH & MPG Review

The 2016 Challenger SRT Hellcat paired a 707-horsepower supercharged V8 with a 3.5-second 0-60 time, an 11.2-second quarter mile, and a 200-mph top speed, all while still returning around 16 mpg combined. Dodge sold it with a back seat and a warranty. Here’s how it performed once real-world testing began.

Dodge Challenger Hellcat against the clock and against out 100 mile MPG loop to see if the Hellcat is not only fast but also fuel efficient on the highway…

Dodge built a car in 2016 that could do 200 mph, run an 11-second quarter mile, and still carry an EPA fuel economy rating you’d expect from something far less dramatic. The Challenger SRT Hellcat’s supercharged 6.2-liter V8 made 707 horsepower, more than most exotic supercars of the era, yet Dodge still sold it with a back seat, a trunk, and a warranty. The genuine surprise wasn’t just how fast it was in a straight line, it was how the numbers held up once real testing started, from launch to top speed to what happened at the pump on the highway. So how does a car this powerful actually behave once the burnout ends and the real driving starts?

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707 Horsepower And An 11-Second Quarter Mile

At the heart of the Hellcat sits a supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V8 rated at 707 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, numbers that were nearly unheard of in a mass-production American car when the Hellcat launched. With launch control engaged, the Challenger Hellcat ran 0-60 mph in as little as 3.5 seconds and covered the quarter mile in 11.2 seconds on factory street tires, performance figures that put it in the same conversation as cars costing two or three times as much.

Manual, Automatic, Or 200 MPH, Buyer’s Choice

Dodge offered the 2016 Hellcat with either a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic, and while the automatic’s launch control shaved a few tenths off acceleration times, both versions were factory-rated for a 200-mph top speed. Fuel economy came in around 16 mpg combined regardless of transmission choice, a genuinely reasonable number considering the power on tap, and one that made the Hellcat surprisingly livable as a daily driver rather than a strip-only toy.

Why The Hellcat Changed What A Muscle Car Could Be

Before the Hellcat, 700-plus horsepower in an American production car usually meant a heavily modified aftermarket build, not something available at a dealership with a factory warranty. Its arrival forced every other manufacturer building a pony car to reconsider what “fast” actually meant in the modern muscle car era, and it set off a horsepower race among Detroit’s big three that continued for years afterward. Watching one launch, hearing the supercharger whine, and seeing the numbers on the timing slip made it clear this wasn’t a nostalgia play, it was a genuine leap forward.

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