2012 Dodge Challenger SRT8 Road Test

By Bob Plunkett

What's it like to unleash the power of 470 horses on a race course in the Mojave Desert billed as the fastest track in the West?

In the new second-generation Dodge 2012 Challenger SRT8 sports coupe, a pedal-to-the-floor hot lap on the 2.5-mile closed-loop road course at Willow Springs International Raceway becomes a high-speed ride on the wild side with hair tingling, helmet pinned to the headrest and heart pulsing to lickety-split.

This new rendition of the SRT8 Challenger carries the formidable credentials of a street-legal racer:  A lowered chassis with taut suspension tweaked for performance, massive 20-inch rear wheels wrapped in 255/45ZR20 Goodyear Eagle RSA speed-rated performance tires, big four-piston Brembo-brand brake calipers and a humongous 6.4-liter V8 engine that's a high-tech rendition of Chrysler's fabled HEMI plant with hemispheric combustion chambers.

Stomping the go-pedal from a starting line in Hot Pit Lane at Willow, we lurch forward as that big-block HEMI sends massive torque to peel rubber to pavement. The car zips from zero to 60 in less than five seconds, but by the Rabbit's Ear, Willow's sweeping Turn Two, the speedo needle climbs to triple-digit territory with Challenger's rigid chassis riding low against asphalt in a rock-solid stance. Full Review