Peter Palmer: Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Octane Edition: Black Is The New Black

The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Octane Edition goes for the ever popular “blacked out” look.
Octane Edition Chargers receive a Satin Black center stripe with Octane Red accents on the edges.
The Charger Hellcat is quickest and most powerful sedan in the world with its supercharged Hemi.

Dodge doesn’t do subtle. If cars were firearms, in a world of sniper rifles and machine guns, Dodges would be blunderbusses: crude but highly effective in the short term. The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is a good example of this – shoot, anything with the Hellcat moniker qualifies. This latest Charger variant has a new paint scheme as well.

Yeah, it’s just as subtle as the drivetrain.

Plum Crazy Color Schemes

Officially, it’s called the “Charger SRT Hellcat Octane Edition.” It features a “blacked-out” look along with some features not previously available on Charger SRT Hellcats. You can get it any color you want, as long as those two colors are either Pitch Black or White Knuckle. Either color features a full-length, Satin Black center stripe with Octane Red accent tracers on each edge. Good to see Mopar is keeping up the goofy paint names tradition.

Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat: American Iron

Basically this is the same “old” Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, but that still makes it the most powerful sedan on the planet. Yes, something like a BMW M5 would probably beat it around a given track (maybe) (that’s a big maybe), but in terms of acceleration, outright speed, and dyno numbers, you’re looking at the top of the mountain right here.

Yes, there are non-Hellcat and non-Hemi versions available, but would you be interested in those? Us neither. Why? Simple: Good ol’ Murican horsepower and displacement – and lots of both. The supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V8 puts out 707 horsepower and 650 lb-ft. of torque, which is, technically speaking, like putting a suspension on a landmine. Set it off, and you will find yourself some place else in next to no time. That mill is hooked up to a TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic tranny with steering wheel shift paddles – one of the few nods to modernity.

There’s a new grille for 2019 that is more than a pretty face. It has dual inlets feeding cooler outside air to the engine bay to strengthen performance. On top of the grille, there are four race-inspired tools now standard on the Hellcat.

Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Octane Edition in White Knuckle. Photo: FCA US LLC.

Related: Dodge is honoring veterans with these special Chargers and Challengers.

Fabulous Four

First is Launch Assist. This gizmo uses wheel speed sensors to watch for and mitigate any driveline damaging wheel hop at launch. In a matter of milliseconds, Launch Assist modifies the engine torque so you regain full grip. Next comes Line Lock. Old school denizens of The Digs like me know what this is, but in case you don’t, a Line Lock engages only the front brakes so you can hold your car (in this case a Charger SRT Hellcat) stationary, but leave the rear wheels free for a glorious, tire-melting, smoke-producing burnout.

This helps because it heats up the rears and cleans off any gunk.

Number three of the fab four is the After-Run Chiller. This guy keeps cooling the supercharger/charge air cooler after the engine is shut off. Sounds like a good idea, no? And finally, there is Torque Reserve. This closes a bypass valve to pre-fill the supercharger while managing fuel flow and spark advance to balance engine rpm and torque. It works so well that it generates a reserve of torque for delivery upon acceleration. In other words, three-two-one-go! The Hellcat drops all 707 ponies directly onto the pavement, and you are gone baby gone.

Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Octane Edition in Pitch Black. Photo: FCA US LLC.

Related: Every Mopar muscle enthusiast needs this book.

The Octane Treatment

Assuming any of the competition gets a good look at you, they’ll see how the Octane Edition has this whole “blacked-out” theme goin’ on. There’s black exterior badging for the grille, decklid, and fenders. The decklid spoiler is also Satin Black. The massive 20 x 9.5-inch aluminum-forged Cross Brace wheels are, surprise, painted low-gloss Black.

Yes, you’ll recognize these wheels from the Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320.

The Cross Brace wheels feature knurled bead seats to minimize tire slip on the wheel under extreme acceleration, which on any other car would be superfluous, but seem like a necessity on this one. Yes, it can stop, thankfully. There’s an impressive Brembo brake package with six-piston calipers up front and four-pots at the rear. They are even painted Octane Red.

The interior gets the business with SRT Performance seats and houndstooth inserts, a groovy throwback. The SRT Hellcat logo gets stitched into the seat backs, and there’s red accent stitching throughout the cabin. The instrument panel badge is a black-on-black deal and the seat belts are red. The instrument panel and console bezels are finished in “Dark Brushed II” (obviously better than the Dark Brushed I instrument panel doodads).

Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Octane Edition interior layout. Photo: FCA US LLC.

Pricing & Availability

The 2019 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Octane Edition carries an MSRP $1,495. Yes, that is the price for the new appearance package, not the Hellcat itself. Dream on, kid! Plan for at least $68,000 starting for the whole car. However, if you want an Octane Edition, get in line now. It is available for order only through the end of the model year. It will start arriving at Dodge dealerships this fall.

Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He is the author of Bricks & Bones: The Endearing Legacy and Nitty-Gritty Phenomenon of The Indy 500, available in paperback or Kindle format. Follow his work on Twitter: @TonyBorroz.

Photos & Source: FCA US LLC.