Saturday Drive: 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Is The Fastest Sedan On Earth

What is it like to drive the fastest sedan on Earth? In a couple of words, pretty nice. But my Saturday drive in the 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye deserves more than just a couple of words. The Charger Redeye, for all its bluff and bluster, is a very nuanced car, and while it is uncertain that the typical Dodge fan is looking for nuance when they buy it, that’s what they’ll get. Not only can they not escape it, but we are also certain they will grow to appreciate its many benefits. And the fact is that after a lengthy turn at the wheel, I discovered a wide variety of them.

First, to set the stage for the drive, Dodge bravely planned an event based in Charlotte, N.C., that enabled a handful of us auto journalist types to drive the Charger Redeye (pardon me if I don’t use the entire name each time, but I have a limited word count) on both a nifty track and on the highways and byways south of town. The crisp fall weather and the crimson-and-orange falling leaves on the winding two-lanes made a stirring backdrop for piloting a stirring car.

Just how stirring? The 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye puts 797 supercharged horsepower under your right foot. That massive power is accompanied by 707 lb-ft of torque delivered through a beefed-up TorqueFlite 8HP90 8-speed automatic transmission. To channel that astounding amount of peak torque the automatic features an upgraded torque converter that delivers an 18 percent increase in torque multiplication when compared to the “standard” Charger SRT Hellcat, which delivers breathtaking performance of its own.

The Charger Redeye’s engine has received a similar massage, getting 25 component upgrades, including a larger supercharger, strengthened connecting rods and pistons, high-speed valve train, fuel injection system, and improved lubrication system. Among the details are the use of the largest factory supercharger of any production car – 2.7 liters versus 2.4 liters — and an increase in boost pressure from 11.6 psi to a very robust 14.5 psi. To provide all the air this monster needs to thrive, the Charger Redeye offers three sources of intake air — a massive scoop in the newly designed hood, a “mail-slot” grille opening, and an air box opening near wheel liner. The rev limit has gone up from 6,200 rpm to 6,500 rpm, and the engine requires more fuel to mix with all that heavily compressed air. To accommodate that the Charger Redeye has two dual-stage fuel pumps instead of one.

Dodge engineers say that at full throttle, the Charger Redeye consumes 1.43 gallons of fuel each minute. That means it will drain the fuel tank in just under 11 minutes if you can find a stretch of pavement where you can keep your foot buried that long. On this drive, I didn’t come anywhere near to finding that. Much the pity.

Other Go-Fast Stuff

SRT engineers pulled out all the stops to enable the supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V-8 engine to produce nearly 800-horsepower. One is the SRT Power Chiller, which is standard on the Charger Redeye. It lowers the intake air temperature by diverting the air-conditioning refrigerant from the cabin to a cooling unit mounted by the low-temperature circuit coolant pump. The supercharger charge air coolant passes through a low-temperature radiator and then flows through the SRT Power Chiller unit, where it is further cooled by the refrigerant. The chilled liquid then flows through heat exchanger units in the supercharger housing, cooling the air compressed by the supercharger as it enters the intake ports. The cooler air is denser, containing more oxygen molecules per volume than warm air, resulting in more power upon combustion.

Another added piece of technology is Race Cooldown that minimizes heat soak effects that can be deadly to a forced-induction system. When the engine shuts down, Race Cooldown keeps the engine’s cooling fan and low-temperature circuit coolant pump running to lower the supercharger/charge air cooler temperature at a controlled rate. The supercharger coolant temperature can be tracked on the 8.4-inch Uconnect touchscreen in the SRT Performance Pages section.

While the engine and drivetrain are filled with remarkable technical trickery, the Charger Redeye also features a wealth of other performance enhancements. The SRT-tuned Bilstein three-mode adaptive damping suspension system has auto, sport, and track settings. The track mode doesn’t simply firm up the suspension; it also changes the shift mapping and activates a gear-holding feature. The electric power steering can be calibrated to optimize steering effort for a variety of driving situations via the Performance Pages. The Brembo brake system uses two-piece, 15.7-inch front rotors and six-piston front calipers for heat management, thermal capacity, and longevity, and they stood up to heavy track use by lead-footed car journos.

For those who want to hurry through the quarter mile, the Charger Redeye has Launch Assist to combat wheel hop, Torque Reserve to “pre-build” torque, and Launch Control to hold the engine at optimal rpm for quick departure. Showoffs among us will especially like Line Lock that engages the front brakes to hold the car stationary but frees the rear wheels to do a “burnout.”

Driving the Charger Redeye

Sadly, on my “Saturday Drive” I found no opportunity to do a burnout. But I did get the opportunity to both test the limits of the Charger Redeye and, importantly, to drive it in a wide variety of situations that included winding two-lanes, long straight stretches of open highway, and the stop-and-go maw of late-afternoon traffic outside a growing urban center. While the car’s performance potential is remarkable, what I found equally remarkable is just how good this 200-mph vehicle is as a “daily driver.” It demonstrated no performance-related idiosyncrasies that I have become wary of after driving and reviewing high-capability vehicles for more than three decades. This car is a lion when you want it to be, but it is also a pussycat when you need it to be. It doesn’t beat you up with a teeth-rattling ride, punish you with a lumpy idle, or unnerve you with an “on-off” throttle that either provides too much power or not enough.

If you’d like to do some profiling, the Charger Redeye certainly looks the part without being embarrassing about it. Its “widebody” exterior features well-integrated fender flares that add 3.5 inches of width to the body, and they envelop Pirelli 305/35ZR20 tires on 20-inch-by-11-inch lightweight “Carbon Black” wheels.

Inside the Charger Redeye is as comfortable as a standard Charger, thanks to the adaptive suspension. The cabin offers the newest version of the UConnect infotainment system plus dedicated genuine buttons for many of the functions you might want to access at a glance — or even without a glance.

All that said, the 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye is, as we said at the top, is the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world. And when you want it to, it will give you every sensation associated with that. You probably have not achieved a 203-mph top speed in the ride that sits in your driveway. It is also doubtful that you have blasted through the quarter mile in 10.6 seconds at 129 mph. Let me tell you, that kind of acceleration gets — and requires — your full attention.

So if the Charger Redeye is the fastest and most powerful production sedan on the planet, that begs the question what is the second fastest? The current best answer to that question is the Porsche Taycan. The battery-electric Taycan Turbo S model boasts 750 horsepower, and it has acceleration that is comparable to the Charger Redeye. One enthusiast magazine recently sent it through the quarter mile in 10.5 seconds at 130 mph. When you go to buy yours, it will set you back about $186,000. Or you could save $110,000 or so and buy the 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye. You can even get it in Hellraisin if you decide you really want to. Take that Porsche.

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