An extremely rare Dodge Challenger Drag Pak was spotted at the drag strip taking on a Hellcat in a quarter-mile shootout.
We’ve seen the Hellcat a bunch of times. Heck, at this point, you might as well measure a car’s drag performance in terms of Hellcats (a McLaren 720S can run a quarter-mile in 0.8 Hellcats, for example). But today we get to see something totally new and totally worth waiting for.
The Dodge Challenger Drag Pak is a purpose-built drag racer from the mad geniuses over at MOPAR.
Built from the ground up to dominate the strip, the Drag Pak was made to be NHRA compliant and be able to run 8-second quarter-miles right out of the box.
As far as we can tell, the latest-gen Drag Paks arrived in 2018 with just 60 made. Some were given a naturally-aspirated 7.0-L HEMI V8, while others were provided a 5.8-L supercharged HEMI V8. We don't have the specific power figures of either engine, but the supercharged V8 is rumored to produce over 1,000 horsepower.
Judging by its performance, we suspect that's not far off from the truth.
Other modifications include a new transmission, redesigned drag-specific suspension, a solid rear axle, and an anti-roll bar. An NHRA-spec roll cage and 15-inch wheels sporting drag radials tires are also standard offerings.
Just 25 of the 7.0-L models were made and 35 of the supercharged Drag Paks. The one we see at the strip here is the 5.8-L supercharged version since the 354 badge stands for 354 cubic inches, or 5.8 liters.
Our first race is against the aforementioned Hellcat which is suffering from a serious lack of power--not something that a Hellcat normally has to worry about. However, the Drag Pak driver seems to jump the light slightly and knowing they’ve already ruined their run, doesn’t really apply the power to show us what their car can do.
It’s only until the Drag Pak takes on a modified Oldsmobile Cutlass that we really get to see it’s 1,000 horses in action. The Drag Pak flies off the line with its front tires in the air and rockets to a sub-8-second quarter-mile time. Truly impressive and something that no Hellcat could ever hope to achieve without some serious work done.