It would appear that nothing makes people want a new Dodge more than 707 horsepower. Chrysler has been overwhelmed with demand for the new Charger and Challenger Hellcat variant. So much so they are unable to fulfill any new orders until they complete orders already in the system. In essence, all ‘Cats are on hold and no Hell will be breaking loose anytime soon.

People lost their collective automotive minds last year when Dodge released news of their production plans for the “most powerful musclecar ever”. Blogs and websites lit up, as did dealership telephone lines. It was a marketing train of power-hungry demand that could not be stopped. It had to be fed by cars, cars and more cars. Only thing is there is no way Chrysler Corp. can produce such a specialty car in mass quantities. This is not made in every Chrysler factory – it’s only made in their Brampton, Ontario plant.

Additionally, tales of dealerships fraudulently accepting down payments on Hellcats, only to string buyers along for months until trying to push them onto lesser-equipped Scat Pack and SRT 392 models, and charging upwards to 50-percent on the MSRP in markups has only poisoned the groundwater. Whether this is the death nell for the infamous machine or merely a “stop and recollect” moment remains to be unseen, but rest assured we’ll have the news here.

The point is, people love horsepower and they love status. Put them in one package and you’ve got a bonafide marketing hit on your hands. Much like Chrysler does now. Will they devote another plant to build Hellcats? Will they have dealerships do “Hellcat Conversions” on regular Challengers/Chargers? We can’t wait to see what the fix is. Because around here our mantra continues to be “Insane Horspeower Levels For Everybody!”