Owner wrecks 707hp Dodge Challenger Hellcat 1 hour after buying it...

[Timco]

UPDATED — Highway to Hell(cat): Owner wrecks 707-hp Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat one hour after buying it | MotorSportsTalk

The road, according to the TFLCar.com report, is a twisting and winding two-lane road in a semi-rural area that includes crests and dips. The speed limit is posted 40 mph. Police are investigating, but the weather and road conditions were reportedly clear at the time and it’s not known if speed was a factor or not.

Here’s part of TFLCar.com’s report: “The skid marks at the scene of the accident show that the driver was traveling north. As the car crested the blind hill, the road drops down to the right, and the Hellcat may have been in a slight drift. The road is very narrow, but in good condition, well marked, and with a posted 40 MPH speed limit sign. The car started to drift toward the right ditch after the speed limit sign. The driver tried to correct, but the resulting over-correction sent the car across the lane and into a large cottonwood (tree). Thankfully, there was no oncoming traffic at this moment.”

To add insult to injury, the report claims the wrecked car was the FIRST such Challenger SRT Hellcat sold in Colorado. There has been no identification of who was driving the vehicle.

[Nine8Six]

These things happens quite often since a few years now. Power going up faster than driver can handle... not sure what race we're on anymore lol

[rp17]

I've Vipers and Vettes spin out with too much throttle. The vette was not too long ago pulling out a gas station and was all over the right and center lane when he lost control. Guess its part of the fun but torque can be dangerous sometimes.

[peterbrown77]

Thank God I'm in no danger of torque overcoming traction in my Corolla....

[mountainman]

It seems to be the norm for many carmakers when they want to build their own version of a supercar to stick a huge engine a car without matching the brakes, suspension, etc with the increase in power. Not sure if this is the case or not with the hellcat, but I do like that Porsche seems to prove everything on the track before it goes on the street cars and they upgrade all systems along with the engine. I have owned many muscle cars that that were awesome in a straight line, but death traps on a twisty road. Unfortunately some people are not aware of their own limitations and don't take the time to learn what they and their car are capable of before they get into a situation they can't get out of. Just because you have the power doesn't mean you have to use it all all the time. Man has to know his limitations

[peterbrown77]

The Hellcat is a well-thought piece; all the systems are built to handle the 707 HP. The only thing Chrysler can't qualify are the drivers. As an aside, I'm sure that there are many people who smack up their cars in the first hours of ownership - lack of familiarity with the car being the number one culprit of course with irrational exuberance probably a close second. Could happen in an F150 or a Cruze; this case just happened to be rather dramatic.

[BIGJake111]

Fiat Chysler is ruining Maserati, the new ghibli has about the same horsepower as the charger middle model that it is based on. The hellcat is cheaper than the base Maserati and it's all the same car just with a much more powerful engine.

The only thing that could redeem the hellcat program in my opinion is..... A fiat 500 hellcat, put the engine where the rear seats are and make it RWD.

[FirstPorsche987]

When I lived in London in 1979 I had a 1973 Opel Manta that color.

Thankfully, I was equal to the challenge of driving it.

[coreseller]

Years back I was talking to a local collector that actually owns a couple of original AC Shelby Cobras, a big block 427 and a small block 289 slab sided car. He was telling me that to go through the original Shelby Registry it was utterly shocking at how many of them were racked up within the first year of ownership. More HP isn't always better.

[Qmulus]

Looks like a classic case of someone not knowing the car and quite probably the road as well, and getting in over their head. Here is more explanation of where it happened. It looks like they went too fast over the crest of a hill, got into a bit of a "tank slapper" trying to slow down, dropped a wheel off the pavement, tried to bring it back on too quickly and lost control. I bet it gets repaired.

A car dealer friend of mine told me that you would be surprised at how often cars get crashed on test drives, or the first day of ownership as people try to explore the performance of the car.

[Perfectlap]

A driver like this does not need 700 HP to wrap a car around a tree on a winding road. They would have accomplished this feat in a 300 HP as well...simply a matter of time.

[kk2002s]

A case of More HP just gets you to that tree Faster
There is a lot of reasons to do the 500 mile take it easy break in for a new car
The engine, settle the suspension and Hello The Tires. Gotta break in new tires, scuff off the release agents

I guess this guy doesn't have to worry about that now
Well one positive, there is a brand new low mile Hellcat dodge Hemi in salvage yard in CO ready to drop in a Boxster

How long would that take to wrap around a tree

[husker boxster]

Fortunetly his 2 occupants weren't hurt. Since it's the Holidays, I won't make any disparaging remarks about the driver. Hopefully the embarrasement of this article going world-wide is enough of a punishment for him. Based on the damage, he's very lucky to be alive and not have the deaths of 2 friends on his conscience.

[thstone]

This story really has the makings of a Shakespearean play;

Romance: The anticipation and love of 707 horsepower.

Irony: New car totaled in first hour of ownership.

Tragedy: Look at the photo. Tragic.

Comedy: You can't make this sh^t up.

[Joe B]

Good thing he wasn't going at the 204 MPH top speed !

[Chuck W.]

Originally Posted by thstone

This story really has the makings of a Shakespearean play;

Romance: The anticipation and love of 707 horsepower.

Irony: New car totaled in first hour of ownership.

Tragedy: Look at the photo. Tragic.

Comedy: You can't make this sh^t up.

Now that is good!

[Jinx]

He should have taken a car control clinic. But I did not know
The class existed until I joined my local Porsche club.

Maybe he just didn't have any high speed driving experence.
That being said it can happen to anyone. Just a little to much
Speed going into a turn or off of a exit ramp and your toast.