When we went to Portland last July to get some seat time in the Challenger Hellcat, one of the biggest surprises we took from the event was the car’s relatively well-mannered behavior on Portland International Raceway’s road course. It is without a doubt a big car – a grand touring vehicle by nature – but it was clear that engineers at Dodge had spent some time dialing out some of the persistent understeer that had become a hallmark of Challenger handling in models past, resulting in a much more neutral balance and a car that was much easier to corral around a race track than its reputation would suggest.
