A BMW M8 faces Dodge Hellcat muscle cars at Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s dragstrip, with surprising results and slower-than-expected times.
A drag race showdown between German engineering and American muscle? That’s exactly what happened at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's iconic dragstrip, "The Strip." A BMW M8 Coupe went head-to-head with Dodge's Challenger and Charger Hellcat models in a series of quarter-mile runs that delivered unexpected results.
The BMW M8, a luxury grand tourer equipped with a 4.4-liter S63 twin-turbo V8 producing up to 617 horsepower in its Competition variant, brings German precision and an all-wheel-drive M xDrive system to the table. While it offers a refined ride and high-tech features, its raw power and speed make it a competitor on the dragstrip.
On the American side were Dodge’s muscle-bound Hellcat duo: a Challenger SRT Hellcat coupe and a Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody sedan. These Mopar legends are well-known for their supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V8 engines, which produce at least 707 horsepower, with Redeye and Super Stock versions pushing that number even higher. On paper, it seemed like the Dodge siblings had the edge in sheer power, but the results told a different story.
Despite their muscle car pedigree, the Hellcats fell short against the BMW M8. The AWD traction and precise power delivery of the German coupe proved decisive, with the M8 crossing the line ahead of both Dodge challengers in their respective races. Surprisingly, none of the cars dipped below 11 seconds, with the Dodge Charger posting a disappointing 13-second pass due to a sluggish start. The Challenger and M8 hovered in the 12-second range, which is slower than expected for high-performance models of this caliber.
So, what happened? The slower times may be attributed to less-than-optimal track conditions, driver error, or simply the cars being pushed less aggressively than they could be. Regardless, the results showcased how the BMW M8’s sophisticated engineering can outmaneuver raw power when put to the test.
In the end, while the Hellcats have the grunt, the BMW M8 proved that finesse and technology can sometimes trump brute strength—even in the world of drag racing.
