2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8

2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8

It's such a very satisfying sound: the "tick, tick, tick, tick" of a cooling exhaust manifold after you've opened up the full 425hp of the Dodge Challenger SRT8. Few automotive sounds are quite so calming and hypnotic. It's reminiscent of a sleeping beast recovering after the hunt, of water dripping from rooftops after the monumental scale torrent: the sound of raw Motown muscle relaxing.
And if you drive the V8 Hemi-powered 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8 as tradition suggests, it's the sound you should relish every time you switch off the ignition. In fact, it is the engine and drive train that really makes this car. Under a hood with its slatted nostrils is the naturally aspirated 370-cubic-inch Hemi (you can't talk about muscle car powerplants as 6.1 litres - it just doesn't have the same ring). It is absolutely thunderous and the pipes are so beautifully tuned to burble pensively on idle like a purring lion, and to emit a Second World War fighter plane crackle and roar under acceleration.
And that acceleration is effortless. It's a ying and yang combination of the 569Nm of violent torque twisting the rear rubber until it squeals (even with traction control on) and the grace of the nose lifting like the prow of a ship as you head towards a five-second 100kph. Controlled in cabin by a fist-fitting T-shaped, chrome Mopar gearshifter, the five-speed auto gearbox has a range of ratios suited to both city traffic and the occasional burst of horizon-bending forward thrust. Occasionally, the transmission is a bit clunky when you accelerate and lift off, but in my mind that metallic, mechanical element should be present and be part of the character of a true muscle car.