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707 HP Dodge Hellcat Engine Production Pace To Increase

Tire manufacturers the world over have a lot to be thankful for: since its debut last year, the supercharged, 707 HP 6.2-liter Dodge Hellcat V8 was all but a written promise that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles would do its part in ensuring its customers shred through tires like hyenas through an antelope, and provide tire makers a steady revenue stream.

It’s equally good news to the purveyors of quality rubber that production of the Dodge Hellcat V8 is set to increase, in an attempt to satisfy truly rampant demand.

Automotive News reports that the primary constraint to Dodge Hellcat production hasn’t been a shortage of parts or plant capacity, but rather that the automaker tests each of the V8s for 42 minutes on a dynamometer prior to its installation into the Charger and Challenger muscle cars. Dodge/SRT President and CEO Tim Kuniskis said that this testing process takes up a sizeable amount of time.

Despite the time cost, the automaker has managed to build about 4,000 units of the Dodge Hellcat engine so far this year at its Saltillo, Mexico manufacturing plant. Nonetheless, demand has proven so great for the Dodge Hellcat-equipped muscle cars that both the Hellcat Charger and Challenger are on backorder. Kuniskis remarked: “We stopped taking all Hellcat orders months ago so that we could catch up to that demand, and then we will launch the 2016s.”

This is all despite Dodge Hellcat V8 production having been increased two times over the automaker’s initial anticipations.

Interestingly, Automotive News is further speculating that the Dodge Hellcat production bump might corroborate the rumors of a 707 HP Jeep Grand Cherokee “TrackHawk,” building on an already-potent Grand Cherokee SRT. FCA has yet to confirm rumors that such a Jeep will be built, but the signs weigh heavily in its favor.

Aaron Birch is an automotive enthusiast and writer/filmmaker from Detroit, MI. As a rule, he only buys cars older than himself.

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