Why the 1970 Chevelle LS6 is the Challenger Hellcat's Granddaddy

"Money Hustard" (moneyhustard)
07/28/2014 at 09:15 • Filed to: classic cars, hellcat, halo cars

As a rule, halo cars are not to be outperformed by their pathetic underlings, but as the 2015 Hellcat has shown, car companies can break their own lineups sometimes. The 707 bhp Hellcat really is uncanny though, not only does it outperform its corporate halo car overlord, the Viper, its disgusting amounts of horsepower sets it apart from most anything on the market, certainly in the under-$100K segment.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

This has happened before though. The 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle LS6 also delivered an unsettling amount of power for its day. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! because of its embarrassing amount of horsepower, even more than the top-end Corvette from that year. In many ways, it was the high water mark for the muscle car era. Read more about this bonkers Chevelle in this week's post to Heacock Classic's blog.

Can anyone name another example of this usurpation?

DISCUSSION (24)

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Money Hustard
07/28/2014 at 10:16

And please don't say Charger because that would be just wrong. :p

Money Hustard > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
07/28/2014 at 10:23

I can't actually think of one. I feel like there must have been honda that was more powerful than the NSX or something, but I'm struggling to come up with another example of a halo car getting outshined as bad as these two examples.

Mr.Li > Money Hustard
07/28/2014 at 22:09

Kinja'd!!!

Camaro z/28 has less horsepower (and cost 20k more) than the zl1

Money Hustard > Mr.Li
07/28/2014 at 22:10

But isn't the Corvette Chevy's halo car?

Brian Silvestro > Money Hustard
07/28/2014 at 22:10

SL65 AMG.

Money Hustard > Brian Silvestro
07/28/2014 at 22:11

Please elaborate, what car does it dethrone and what are the horsepowers involved?

dogisbadob > Money Hustard
07/28/2014 at 22:11

In the early 90s, like 92-93, Cadillac's Seville was more powerful than the Allante.

1992
Allante: 200 hp
Seville: 275 hp

1993
Allante: 275 hp
Seville: 275-300 hp

And of course, quite a few JDM cars would qualify, as they all had a limit of 276 hp in the 90s.

The last couple years of the NSX automatic may have been eclipsed by the TL or something. It remained 252 hp while the TL got something like 270.

It's possible that some of Audi's RS models may have more than the 430-550 hp of the R8.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Money Hustard
07/28/2014 at 22:11

Buick Regal Grand National (and GNX) vs Chevrolet Corvette in the late 80s.

Money Hustard > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
07/28/2014 at 22:15

True! It edged it out by 5 horsepower! That's one, I wonder if there are any more out there?

Money Hustard > dogisbadob
07/28/2014 at 22:16

This is the comment yet, so much informations!

camaroboy68ss > Money Hustard
07/28/2014 at 22:16

well are you going off of the sticker horsepower that was in the advertising or air cleaner decals? the 396ci/375hp big block chevy's used in like the Impalas and SS chevelles were the exact same motor as the 425hp Corvette motor. they just changed the decal. same thing with the LT-1 350 motor in the 70 Z28 Camaro.

Brian Silvestro > Money Hustard
07/28/2014 at 22:17

Well at least it used to be. SL65 has 621 HP, SLS AMG had 583.

But the SLS was still faster, even in a straight line.

Money Hustard > Brian Silvestro
07/28/2014 at 22:18

Yeah, I doubt the new Hellcat is faster than the Viper in the real world or track. Sounds like the end of the world though, which is a plus.

Brian Silvestro > Money Hustard
07/28/2014 at 22:19

If that's how the world ends, I'm okay with that.

Money Hustard > camaroboy68ss
07/28/2014 at 22:20

Very interesting tidbit, I'll look into that and may even build a post off of it. Blogging for Heacock is easily my favorite part of my job at an ad agency. That, and the Friday happy hours.

GhostZ > Money Hustard
07/28/2014 at 22:27

Unofficially, the Pontiac and Oldsmobile 400 and 455 engines had more power than the Corvette, but they are under different brand names.

Cadillac, in 1970, had a 375HP Cadillac Series 60 (their Halo luxury sedan) that was less powerful than the 400 HP El Dorado. This is because the Series 60 didn't get the 500 ci engine until next year. The Series 60 was always more expensive than the El Dorado "personal coupe" from what I remember.

The Acura RSX had less power than the Acura TL, likewise, the Civic Si had less power than the V6 Accord coupe.

If you consider the Thunderbird and Mustang the Halo Cars of Ford, the Galaxie 500 always had more power while they overlapped in years.

For one year, the Taurus SHO had more power than the Mustang GT, before the introduction of the SVT Cobra, before they switched to the fourth gen body.

The Porsche 911 Turbo was much faster during the mid-80s than the introduced 928, by almost 100 HP, but the 928 was supposed to be its replacement, as a more expensive GT Halo car.

GhostZ > Money Hustard
07/28/2014 at 22:29

SL65 made 612 HP, the SLS AMG made about 560. Then again, the SL65 WAS the Halo car before the SLS came along...

Money Hustard > GhostZ
07/28/2014 at 22:32

Damn, it's amazing what a repost can do. I got no info when I posted this this morning. Not sure if its the the time of day or the fact that the question was so clearly called out, but the difference is stark.

This is great info, thank GhostZ!

GhostZ > Money Hustard
07/28/2014 at 22:42

Oh, and how can I forget? Nissan is infamous for doing this:

The 240Z made less power than the 2.0l DOHC GT-R in 1970, but the 240Z was the Halo Car.

From the 350z until the new GT-R, the Z was outpowered by the VH and VK engines in the Nissan Trucks, which produce an excess of 350 HP. Same goes for the Infiniti G37 and the M45/56.

After the 300ZX went away, the 240SX was their 'halo' car for a few years, but the Nissan Maxima had much more power in the US models. 150HP VS 220HP.

Some more from other manufacturers:

The Hyundai Genesis Sedan is more powerful than the Genesis Coupe, because of it's 5.0l engine. It's up to you to debate which one is the real Halo car though.

The BMW i8 is still less powerful than almost all M cars, by a HUGE margin, but seems to be treated as a Halo car.

The Lexus SC430 made a lot less power than the LS460 sedan, but again, depends in which one you consider the halo car. Toyota and Lexus seem to be in the realm of making their least powerful cars (Prius, Lexus Hybrids) their 'halo' cars now though, so...

GhostZ > Money Hustard
07/28/2014 at 22:43

It's the title. Originally it seemed like a informative post, this one was actually asking for answers. I like doing research.

Money Hustard > GhostZ
07/28/2014 at 22:53

Kinja'd!!!