American muscle faces off against European finesse…
Usually you don’t see a Dodge Challenger Hellcat drag racing against a Mercedes-AMG GT-R, Audi R8 V10 Plus, or a BMW M3 G80 Competition, but that’s exactly what we have to present today. This went down not in the United States but in Germany, where the Mopar is a rare beast and the European supercars are more commonly used for straight-line racing.
See more American muscle vs. European exotics racing here.
Immediately, we know some people will go to the “old bones” argument about the Hellcat. Many in the automotive press love to hammer on that one, that the Dodge Challenger and Charger are using platforms which were developed by Daimler Chrysler ages ago. There’s this obsession in the industry with “shiny new toys” but since we cover classics as well as modern collectables, we don’t automatically think something which is older is inferior. Weird, isn’t it?
The thing is when you think about it, the fact this Hellcat can even remotely hold its own against these European supercars in half-mile drag races is pretty incredible. After all, the Hellcat is brutal but it’s not super technologically advanced. The European supercars are, but they cost way more, take more cash and finnicky servicing to keep running optimally, and are way out of reach for those who are comfortable but not rich.
That’s the beauty of American muscle cars is they’re something more people can actually afford to own. Sadly, the trend lately has been towards making them more and more like European supercars, which means they’re less affordable. We really hate to see it, but that’s the reality we’re facing at the moment.
This video was shot during the Race 1000 in Germany. It’s an event where people show up with their high-performance cars and race for half a mile on an airstrip. Yeah, it’s not the most ideal way to hold drag races, but we’re guessing there aren’t an abundance of drag strips in Germany, particularly the half-mile variety. Anyway, check it out for yourself.
