Dodge is pretty much king of the hill when it comes to muscle car power on the street and in dealer showrooms right now. Basically everything in a Dodge dealer can be optioned with a giant Hemi V8 with a supercharger stacked on top. That is, except for the Durango SUV, the beast which arguably needs the power injection most. The current highest power Durango is the SRT model with a naturally aspirated 475 horses.
In preparation for the 2019 running of the Tire Rack One Lap of America, SRT Engineering slammed the biggest and highest powered engine the company has available from the factory, a 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat Redeye engine with 797 horsepower, into a Durango. Dodge engineers have proven that the motor will fit in there, so when will the company offer America the four-wheel-smoking Durango it deserves?
The Durango Redeye, nicknamed “Speed Trap” [which sounds like a Transformer], is referred to as a one-off for now. If I were a betting blogger, I’d wager Dodge could offer this, or perhaps the 707-horsepower version of the motor, as an alternative to Jeep’s Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, and it wouldn’t be the worst idea.
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The One Lap of America is a competition which takes place across seven days at seven different race tracks all over the midwest, plus thousands of highway miles between them. Competitors are not allowed a chase car, and must complete the full week on the same set of tires.
The Durango has been upgraded accordingly. It’s been fitted with a stainless exhaust system, 0.6″ lowering springs, custom 20X11 wheels and Pirelli P-Zero tires straight from the Hellcat Widebody, and Brembo big brakes.
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On the outside, to help it stand apart in the visuals department, the Durango has been upfitted to Pursuit Law Enforcement livery. Of course, no 797 horsepower police SUV would be complete without a Whelen light bar on top and a loudspeaker behind the grille.
All of the driver comforts have been retained, including heated and ventilated seats, though the second and third rows have been removed to reduce weight [LOL] and add space for hauling equipment. For safety, a roll bar and driver five-point harnesses have been added.
“Winning the truck/SUV class last year proved just how fast and durable the stock Dodge Durango SRT is during extreme competitive conditions,” said Steve Beahm, Head of Passenger Car Brands for FCA North America. “The class is expected to be even tougher this year, so we’re leveraging the highest-performing engine in our tool box—the Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye’s 797-horsepower supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI high-output V-8—to power the Dodge Durango SRT Pursuit for this year’s One Lap. It will be exciting to follow the Durango SRT Pursuit Speed Trap on its One Lap adventure to see how this concept vehicle performs.”
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Speed Trap will race in the Truck and SUV class, which according to the entry list, includes a non-supercharged Durango SRT and a Jeep Trackhawk, both entered by privateers.
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