Hellcat Redeye Widebody Dodge Challenger SRT in Black

There’s no point in reviewing the Dodge Challenger Hellcat Jailbreak. Its 800-plus horsepower and more than $110,000 price tag are either something you want and are willing to pay for or they aren’t. So instead of trying to boil down the Hellcat Jailbreak to a simple thumbs up or thumbs down, we are going to answer some relevant questions about the car. What exactly is the Jailbreak? The Jailbreak is one trim level above the Dodge Hellcat Redeye Widebody, which means its full name is Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody Jailbreak. I know. Very wordy. The basic premise of the Jailbreak package is to unlock everything that was previously exclusive to different trim levels, production years or special editions. Dodge gave the Jailbreak a more powerful engine variant than the run-of-the-mill Hellcat Redeye. From there, the automaker will let you totally customize the look of your Hellcat. On the outside, you can choose any paint colour, brake caliper colour, wheel and stripe combo from Dodge’s current or back catalogue, and even customize the look of the badges. Inside, you can choose interior materials as well as the colour of the seats and even seatbelts. The Hellcat has 807 horsepower, the same number as the SRT Super Stock and Demon (in its street setting) limited editions. Hold down the “launch” button just ahead of the shifter. Pin the brake to the floor with one foot and the accelerator with the other. The entire car begins to shake and rock as the tires spin into smoke. Let off the brake and the tires continue to fight for traction. Wrestle the back end into line and hold tight as supercharger whine fills your ears and your chest begins to feel like someone is pushing you into your seat with both hands. The experience is loud, inefficient, scary, thrilling, intoxicating and a little exhausting all at the same time. It’s like being in the middle of a mosh pit. Does it handle well? Amazingly, yes — kind of. The 305/35ZR20 Pirelli P-Zero tires on all four corners work like magic to reduce body roll and glide the Challenger through turns. But they won’t help you under a full throttle launch, especially when not properly warmed up. There are hundreds of YouTube videos of Hellcat owners learning that fact the hard way. But with so much grip and weight to drive the tires into the ground, this Challenger is actually quite a bit of fun through back roads. The steering won’t offer you much in the way of feedback, but it’s responsive enough to correct oversteer or hold a powerslide. There’s also just the right amount of dampening to keep things cushy during cruising, but also flat around a bend. Could you use one every day? I wouldn’t drive this one in the winter. Or even in wet conditions. Speaking of traffic, the engine gets very, very hot at idle. Sit at a set of lights for too long and you can watch the temperature gauge slowly creep up and up until fans kick on to help cool down the enormous, supercharged V8. You’re quickly reminded how incredible it is that Dodge will sell you one of these with a warranty. Outside of that, the Challenger is good for daily use. It’s very comfortable. It’s easy to park. It has an enormous trunk and a usable back seat. Mark Sugar at Dodge City on 8th in Saskatoon www.MarkSugarDrives.com