I own a Chrysler 300C, which is the equivalent of a Dodge Challenger R/T. The 5.7L Hemi makes decent power and the right noises, and gets the job done. Or does it? Maybe not. You can step down to the Pentastar V6, like we sampled in the Challenger GT, and it’s practical and solid, but does kind of disappoint when it’s in a Challenger. There is supposed to be a V8, right? Right. The 392 Hemi that we sampled in a six-speed Challenger is a solid choice, one that has plenty of grunt, plenty of good noises, plenty of everything. But FCA hasn’t been about “plenty” over the last few years, they’ve been about having enough power to blow your tiny little mind. Case in point: the Hellcat, which we’ve sampled in both Challenger and Charger flavors. It’s proper big-boy power, the kind of setup where you need to think twice before you go for the long pedal on the right. Still not enough? Well, if you weren’t one of the fortunate few to get one of the 840-horsepower Demons, then there is a backup plan. It comes with a twin-nostril hood and 797 horsepower. You can live with that figure, right? The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye…Demon Lite. It isn’t a limited edition, it isn’t restricted to people with competition licenses, it isn’t banned in California. If you have the money, you can opt into 797 horsepower and all you really need to decide upon is the color you want your car to be. Remember the days when 300 horsepower was actually exciting? Yeah…the good old days, right freaking now.

Yes, I got the keys to a Hellcat Redeye. The red key, in fact, the party key, the one that allows every ounce of fun. It was a very quick jaunt around the Beech Bend property while light rain fell, so if you want to know how this thing’s highway manners are or what the car is like to live with, go read Lohnes’s take on the Hellcat Challenger and add the horsepower into the mix. My drive was simple: I took the car to the far end of the return road, turned around, made sure nobody was around me, and pinned the throttle. What, exactly does 797 horsepower actually feel like? When you start the car, the Redeye feels somehow even more substantial than the normal Hellcat. Each piston happily announces it’s presence and it’s intent to help make you involuntarily soil yourself. The whole car rocks at idle. Each shift of the automatic is direct and sharp. At low speeds, you’re driving a normal car…one that you barely need to use a toe to accelerate with, but otherwise normal. It stops fine, it turns fine, it feels fine. Everything says “normal Challenger” except the blower whine and the heavy metal bassline thumping out of the pipes.

Then I found my straightaway, turned the traction control off, took one deep breath, and went for broke.

When I drove the Hellcat Charger, in similar conditions, I found that the car would break the tires loose at highway speeds with enough provocation. The Redeye offers up the same overall sensation, but the sensation is even more violent. When the engine revs, the whole car becomes somehow that much more involved. The way the steering wheel shakes in your hand as the tach needle sweeps around, the way the seat compresses as physics compress seat foam and the fat of your ass in one fluid motion as the car starts forward motion…every last over-the-top back in the day story of how cars were, this one is. 

I only have two regrets: One, I can’t afford one. And two, that I didn’t rip a quarter-mile tire-fire that rose the dead and would have Dallas kicking me out of Beech Bend. The Hellcat is like a drug. The Redeye narrows that drug down: speed, in a heavy dose. The Redeye should honestly come with a waiver in the purchase process, holding FCA harmless from the medical and spiritual effects of what you are about to experience.

I’m now a junkie. I need a power fix. Damn you, SRT. Damn you.

A big thank you to the Hemi Bear for turning me loose in his personal Hellcat Redeye. That’s a lot of trust!