Where there’s demand, prices go up and Dodge’s 707hp Hellcat models make no exception. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles told The Detroit News that the price of both cars will go up for the 2016 model year.
The 2016 Challenger SRT Hellcat will start at $62,495, up $2,500, while the 2016 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat will be priced from $65,945, up $1,950. Dodge says the increases are due to new standard features, including navigation and Laguna leather. Prices do not include destination and gas guzzler tax. Still, the automaker added that customers whose orders were canceled will be able to get the muscle cars at the 2015 model-year price.
Dodge really didn’t expect its Hellcat-powered Challenger and Charger models would be so popular. All 2015 model-year cars have already been sold, and dealers this week started ordering the 2016 models.
But that doesn’t mean customers will be able to get their hands on the 707hp models that easily. Demand is so big that it led to months-long waiting lists and irresponsible ordering practices for some dealers, including accepting deposits and orders despite limited supply.
This is why Dodge cancelled hundreds of orders for 2015 model year Hellcats and changed the ordering system for the 2016 model year. Dodge and SRT CEO Tim Kuniskis describes it as a “radical change” that will not allow dealers to place more orders than they’ve been allocated.
Furthermore, Dodge is more than doubling Hellcat production for the 2016 model year. While he did not say how many vehicles it produced for the 2015MY, Kuniskis revealed that the company has sold about 4,500 Hellcats through early August, most of them Challengers.
Until now, production was slowed by the fact that each engine had to be tested for 42 minutes. But Dodge has recently expanded dynamometer testing capabilities, allowing it to speed up the process.
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