Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody Lap at Laguna Seca

"Driving Sports TV" (drivingsports) 04/04/2018 at 23:21 • Filed to: Hellcat, Dodge, HellcatEverything

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In this video we attempt to tame the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody on a moist lap around Mazda Raceway WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca. We find that 707hp and rear-wheel drive makes for a rather challenging outing.

Long-Voyager > Driving Sports TV 04/05/2018 at 07:07

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Having driven a Hellcat for a couple weeks I can say this with full confidence:

For a 700+HP car, the Hellcat is very composed, even when pushing hard out of corners, so long as it’s in Track mode.

Switch it to Sport mode, it becomes the scary monster everyone sees it as.

Driving Sports TV > Long-Voyager 04/05/2018 at 10:27

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The SRT engineer said that for a track like Laguna Seca keeping the suspension in Sport mode was a ideal — not Track. The rest of the settings we had in Track mode (Sorry, no video of our modes, but shooting around this track day is very tricky.)

Long-Voyager > Driving Sports TV 04/05/2018 at 12:00

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Being in Sport mode explains why it kept getting squirrely on you.

These cars are downright scary when you mash the pedal in Sport mode. Track mode keeps them very stable, even getting on the throttle hard midway through a corner.

Driving Sports TV > Long-Voyager 04/05/2018 at 14:11

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The engineer from SRT felt otherwise. Ideally, we’d have been able to just try both, but given the situation and the lack of budget from a YouTube show to rent the entirety of Laguna Seca... we’ll have to go with what we have. Cold tires, moist track and 707 is just going to be messy.

Long-Voyager > Driving Sports TV 04/05/2018 at 16:04

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I will say I never got a chance to push it on wet pavement, but I know the difference between Sport and Track modes on dry pavement are night and day. I honestly fail to see the hate the Hellcat gets for it’s handling.

Regardless, it looks like you had a ton of fun, that’s all that really matters.