2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Road Test and Review

2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye ・ Photo by Nicole Wakelin

The 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye is a sedan unlike any other. While most sedans are content to have spacious, comfortable interiors and smooth rides with middling engines, this is a Dodge. This is a brand that’s all about power, and the Charger is a bona fide muscle car. What’s under the hood is a priority.

This year, Dodge decided to kick things up a notch for the Charger with the SRT Hellcat Redeye. It has the 6.2-liter high-output V8 found in the limited-production 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, which produces 797 horsepower with 707 lb-ft of torque. Add in plenty of high-performance enhancements throughout and you have a sedan that’s ready to take the kids to school or take on all comers at the track. Let’s take a closer look at the 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye to see if it’s the right choice for you.

Stands Out From the Pack

The Dodge Charger lineup consists of eight trim levels with the SRT Hellcat Redeye sitting at the very top. This is a muscle car, so no matter which model, you choose there’s plenty of power — but the SRT Hellcat Redeye stands out from the rest. This is the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world.

Priced from $78,595, it has the same Widebody design that debuted on the SRT Hellcat for the 2020 model year. It has integrated fender flares that add 3.5 inches of width and 20” x 11” lightweight Carbon Black wheels. The front fascia is specially designed to promote engine cooling, and there is a Bilstein three-mode adaptive competition suspension system to improve grip. Brembo high-performance brakes provide stopping power, and Hellcat badges on the fenders with a red jewel-like eye let the world know that you’re not driving just any Charger.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

797 horsepower. 707 lb-ft of torque.

What really makes the SRT Hellcat Redeye a unique trim within the Charger lineup is its impressive powertrain. Under the hood is a 6.2-liter high-output V8 with 797 horsepower and 707 lb-ft of torque paired to a heavy-duty eight-speed automatic transmission. It has a 0-60 time of 3.6 seconds, and it is the world’s fastest four-door muscle car with a top speed of 203 mph and a quarter-mile time of 10.6 seconds at 129 mph. It is undeniably fast.

It’s also completely street legal, so you can get groceries one minute and hit the track the next. We didn’t make a grocery run, but we did spend some time at the track. As expected, when you hit the gas, it responds in kind with aggressive acceleration that presses you back into your seat. If you want power, you got it.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

Everything You Need for High-Performance Driving

The powertrain is the star, but there are plenty of other performance features in the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye that contribute to its outstanding performance. This includes the SRT Power Chiller, which lowers the intake temperature for better performance. The eight-speed automatic transmission includes an upgraded torque converter that provides an 18 percent increase in torque multiplication compared to the standard SRT Hellcat. The engine itself has more than 25 component upgrades to ensure it can handle all that power.

SRT drive modes of Street, Sport, and Track, or Custom are accessed through the infotainment touchscreen. These let drivers tailor horsepower, transmission shift speeds, steering, paddle shifters, traction, and suspension to suit their needs. There’s launch control, launch assist, and line lock with SRT Performance Pages so you can see real-time vehicle performance data. These features let you make the most of your time at the track.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

Sit back and enjoy the ride.

The challenge of building any performance vehicle is making it one that still has a nice ride. The stiffness and control of a sports car can make it harsh for passengers, which is something no one wants in a sedan. The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye defeats that challenge with a spacious and comfortable interior that lets driver and passengers alike simply sit back and enjoy the ride. There’s minimal road and wind noise, but you will hear the engine and exhaust note. While some might call that a drawback, in a muscle car they’re fantastic sounds.

The Street drive mode makes it an easier, more relaxed car to pilot. This isn’t a typical sedan that demands little of the driver, but it’s not tiring. An easy foot on the gas is all that’s required, and all that horsepower makes highway merges easy.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

Room for Everyone

The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye has seating for five with an expansive rear seat that easily accommodates three adults. There’s plenty of head and legroom so even tall passengers will find it comfortable. Front seat bolstering is strong enough to help hold you in place on the track without feeling tight during everyday driving.

Seats feature standard Laguna leather upholstery emblazoned with the Hellcat logo with the option for Alcantara accents for a sportier look and feel. The driver gets an eight-way power seat with four-way lumbar, which is optional for the front passenger. Front seats are both heated and ventilated, and the rear seats are also heated, ensuring everyone stays comfortable when the temperature dips. There’s a heated flat-bottom SRT steering wheel that’s leather-wrapped, again with the option for Alcantara. It’s a spacious, comfortable interior with room for everyone to spread out.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

Large Trunk

The vehicle most choose when cargo is a priority is an SUV, but that doesn’t mean cargo isn’t a concern when you drive a sedan. There’s still the need to carry stuff on occasion, and the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye is ready. It has an expansive trunk with 16.5 cubic feet for cargo. That’s higher than what you’ll find in many sedans, making it easy to carry the family’s luggage for a week’s vacation.

The trunk opening is large, too, so bulky items are more likely to fit. Further adding to its cargo versatility are 60/40 split-folding rear seats that let longer items pass through to the passenger compartment. The 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye is a muscle car, but it’s also a sedan ready to handle people and cargo.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

Easy-to-Use Infotainment

Infotainment in the 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye is Uconnect 4C with an 8.4-inch touchscreen. It includes AM/FM, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto with the option for navigation. There’s SiriusXM with a six-month trial, and a six-speaker premium Alpine audio system with an available 19-speaker Harman Kardon system provide a premium audio experience. There are also multiple USB ports to keep everyone’s devices charged.

The Uconnect infotainment system has long been one of the most intuitive available. Menus are well-organized and easy to read quickly so your attention isn’t drawn away from the road. Even a passenger unfamiliar with Uconnect will have no problem finding what they need. Uconnect offers a great combination of key smartphone connectivity and logically organized menus that make it helpful rather than causing frustration.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

Redeye Skips Some Safety Gear

The Dodge Charger comes with a wide range of standard safety features. These include electronic stability control with brake assist, hill start assist, rear parking sensors, a rearview camera, rain brake support, ready alert braking, and tire pressure monitoring.

Additional safety features are optional on certain Charger models. These include blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-path detection, advanced brake assist, automatic high beams, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and a lane-departure warning. Unfortunately, those features are not available on the SRT Hellcat Redeye. While standard safety features are strong, the lack of availability of more advanced safety features on this trim is a drawback.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

Final Thoughts

The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye is a unique choice. On the one hand, it’s a family sedan with plenty of room for five adults and all their cargo. That’s the practical side of this muscle car. Then there’s the powerful Hellcat engine hiding beneath that aggressive hood. This gives the Redeye performance that simply isn’t available in any other sedan.

It also makes this a car that’s not only suited for the track, but tailor-made for one. It has a range of drive modes to help make the most of your track time, along with launch control to help improve your personal performance. There’s not another sedan out there quite like this one. If you want the practicality of a sedan, but crave the performance of a sports car, then the 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye is the car for you.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin