Initial Hellcat release

[1971demon]

RS! RS was the man. Anyone know who he really was?

yup....the HICKSTER..

 

[1971demon]

Waited from the first announcement in spring '14, through the usual well-known west coast and south florida stealerships attempts to convince the world Tim K was lying and production would be very limited, repeating their lies via any media outlets they could, in hope enough fools would believe the lie and empty their wallets... order placed first week order banks were open, at MSRP [unfortunately, but no ADM], with a corporate rep present telling the local GM to put all orders in the system, with or without a valid allocation, and mentioning M6 cars would be built fairly quickly, A8's slower due to limited transmission availability. Build started before Christmas break, but held up [was told the seats were taken to replace poor quality leather for a car further up the line]. Build finished after the break, and delivered in Jan '15, with a few free oil changes and a bag of SRT swag thrown in [and a few mysterious markings in out of the way places]. No cat heads on the key fobs [common for 1st allocation round orders], even with the delayed build completion [another cat delivered later the same week, built entirely in Jan '15, came with the newer cat head fobs]

edit: forgot to mention the periodic single-malt fueled question posted for RS, who always seemed to reply with interesting news

Even in MY 16...when the order banks opened up I was informed about the A8 holding up my order...I opted for the M6...man am I glad I did....

 

[DGatzby]

yup....the HICKSTER..

Damn it, drove him back to the shine.

 

[Jungle Cat]

I learned about them from the new muscle column in Hemmings Muscle Machines. Then after seeing the Jay Leno episode showcasing the Tor Red automatic I decided I needed one. The Super Bowl add showcasing the Tor Red Hellcat didn’t hurt either. I decided to sell my mint 70 Buick GSX I restored at Mecum Kissimmee in January 2016. Only way I was getting one. I made way more than I thought I would on that car. Right after I sold it I started looking and making calls. In January 2016 Hellcats were still a rare bird. Most places that had any wanted at least 10 grand over. Forget me ever buying anything from you pal. Ever! One dealer I called about 50 miles from home says on the phone says we have 3. Two black and one red. All Challengers. They said the two black are probably spoken for. No problem. I’m not a black fan. I’ll be down tomorrow but was doubtful. I walk in and tell them I’m the one that called yesterday. How much do you want for this red car in the showroom? I am a cash buyer They said we get sticker on these. I said put a sold sign on this car right now. I spent the next hour trying to knock them down a bit but they weren’t budging. I can’t say as I blame them. It was the first time I never got a discount on a car and I have bought a bunch. The car had 4 miles on it and apparently just arrived. No test drives! I was thankful as it was late January. Strange there was no snow or salt on the road in Massachusetts which is rare for that time of year. I planned to pick it up in a few days on Saturday. Horror when I heard a snow storm was coming Friday. I made a call to the dealer and asked them if I could pick car up Thursday Night as I paid by wire. After rush hour traffic I made it with 45 minutes to spare. I left my 2nd daily driver at the dealer until the weekend. Drove home carefully and parked it until April.

 

[Tsubahog]

Like B5CAT16, I was at Chryslers at Carlisle in July 2014. An announcement was made to be at the grandstands at 2pm because Steve Magnante had something to share. He announced Dodge would be coming out with a 707HP Supercharged Challenger for a base price of $60k. I saw him in 2015 and “blamed” him for me having to buy a HC - great guy!!

The very early ”order placers” got caught up in what we called “VON Hell”, where you were given a Vehicle Order Number but never a VIN - that resulted in the shady “Voucher” plan mentioned above. A few members here got wound up in that. RS was the Hero that kept us all advised as to status of our VON and VIN -he posted multiple times every day and would respond to an invidual VIN status request - .
he got shut down and remains a legend for early HC buyers.

I placed my order in January 2015 for an M6 with a black hood - no ADM here in NJ. The black hood was cancelled by Chrysler and I was given the option to cancel - not a chance. Car showed up in March and I had the hood wrapped.

Traded it in 2018 for a 2019 Redeye.

My RedLine on the bottom and a Tor Red up top.

 

[Xylander]

I'm not sure of the date, but I remember seeing a Gas Monkey episode of the HC in a drag race with a vintage challenger...I had no idea this episode was to be the official release of the HC...(maybe it wasn't)..I had no idea FCA had something like this up their sleeve..it took a few days but I was at my local dealers door..and the info they had was sketchy..another couple of days past and I was able to place my order...many weeks after I was told they over sold and I wasn't getting my car. They told me I would get a voucher for a 2016...(never got the voucher). When the order banks opened up for 16..I was on it...changed dealers and got it in 9 wks if I recall....I'm just wondering how many members knew of the HC prior to its release...if so how...and what members had the earliest delivered 2015 HC's

I knew about the HC early on before its release in 2015. I'm one of those people who scrounges around in dark corners of the internet and found a few stories about a "rumored" supercharged V8 Dodge was working on. Some of the early rumors suggested that it would be a turbo or blown Viper. I watched the initial reveal live via a net stream when they formally announced the Challenger Hellcat. At that point in my life, I had JUST bought my 2015 Mustang GT in Aug. of 2014. If I could have done it financially, I would have sold the Mustang at a loss and picked one up. But, at that point in my career, I wasn't making enough and my then fiancee and I are were saving to pay for our wedding and a house.

Fun fact: I only got that 2015 Mustang because my local Dodge dealership couldn't locate me an M6 to test drive. I would have rather had the 2014 Challenger SRT 8 (white with red stripes). The Ford dealership, however, had one to test drive and they said they could get one with all my wish list options the next day at a price 10 grand cheaper than the Challenger.

 

[72 440 Barracuda]

My first Hellcat in person was the one on display in March of 2016. We went to the Las Vegas Nascar race and it was on display:
Never dreamed I would have one in my garage one day, but almost exactly three years later I found a 2015 with right at 3500 miles on it.
I wasnt concerned with color at the time, but I really do love the Pitch Black with Blacked out windows....

The one at the NASCAR race

Mine:

 

[1971demon]

I knew about the HC early on before its release in 2015. I'm one of those people who scrounges around in dark corners of the internet and found a few stories about a "rumored" supercharged V8 Dodge was working on. Some of the early rumors suggested that it would be a turbo or blown Viper. I watched the initial reveal live via a net stream when they formally announced the Challenger Hellcat. At that point in my life, I had JUST bought my 2015 Mustang GT in Aug. of 2014. If I could have done it financially, I would have sold the Mustang at a loss and picked one up. But, at that point in my career, I wasn't making enough and my then fiancee and I are were saving to pay for our wedding and a house.

Fun fact: I only got that 2015 Mustang because my local Dodge dealership couldn't locate me an M6 to test drive. I would have rather had the 2014 Challenger SRT 8 (white with red stripes). The Ford dealership, however, had one to test drive and they said they could get one with all my wish list options the next day at a price 10 grand cheaper than the Challenger.

I guess you now know that HC ownership is the ultimate wish list...

 

[Xylander]

I guess you now know that HC ownership is the ultimate wish list...

I agree. Especially for someone like me. Every pic of me as a kid was with a toy car. I'm an ate up gearhead with a serious addiction to large c.i.d. muscle cars. The classics are fun and all, but the Hellcat is the fastest pure muscle car of all time. I wasn't about to leave this planet one day without having owned one.

I grew up as a teenager in the early-mid 90s. What I like to call the dark ages of performance cars... almost as bad as the 80s. I didn't think I'd ever have the chance to live in another muscle car golden age. I always wished that I could go back in time and be born in 1950 so I could order a brand new 70 Super Bee. When the '19 HC came out, I wasn't going to let the opportunity go by. I had a 2018 T/A 392 at the time that I traded in at a loss (was upside down about 5 grand) just so I could lock in the Hellcat. I took it on the chin a little for the financing, but it was a good decision. The production year was very short and they had deep discounts due to surplus materials, so I saved more than I took on the chin in the trade/financing. Then, with 2021, they raised the prices again and slashed a lot of the incentives. The other upshot is that I was the only person who ordered a Hellraisin/painted satin graphics narrow body in all of 2021. So, not only did I get a 1 of 1, but a major 1 of 1 based on exterior paint alone.

I figure for a once in a lifetime car, I did OK and I'm fortunate enough to be blessed with enough aligned stars to have the means to buy it, keep, and store it so that it'll hopefully be with me a very long time. There's simply nothing better. There's other cars in the world, but none built for a muscle loving gearhead like me. This is the tip top of the pointy end of the automobile food pyramid.

 

[1971demon]

I agree. Especially for someone like me. Every pic of me as a kid was with a toy car. I'm an ate up gearhead with a serious addiction to large c.i.d. muscle cars. The classics are fun and all, but the Hellcat is the fastest pure muscle car of all time. I wasn't about to leave this planet one day without having owned one.

I grew up as a teenager in the early-mid 90s. What I like to call the dark ages of performance cars... almost as bad as the 80s. I didn't think I'd ever have the chance to live in another muscle car golden age. I always wished that I could go back in time and be born in 1950 so I could order a brand new 70 Super Bee. When the '19 HC came out, I wasn't going to let the opportunity go by. I had a 2018 T/A 392 at the time that I traded in at a loss (was upside down about 5 grand) just so I could lock in the Hellcat. I took it on the chin a little for the financing, but it was a good decision. The production year was very short and they had deep discounts due to surplus materials, so I saved more than I took on the chin in the trade/financing. Then, with 2021, they raised the prices again and slashed a lot of the incentives. The other upshot is that I was the only person who ordered a Hellraisin/painted satin graphics narrow body in all of 2021. So, not only did I get a 1 of 1, but a major 1 of 1 based on exterior paint alone.

I figure for a once in a lifetime car, I did OK and I'm fortunate enough to be blessed with enough aligned stars to have the means to buy it, keep, and store it so that it'll hopefully be with me a very long time. There's simply nothing better. There's other cars in the world, but none built for a muscle loving gearhead like me. This is the tip top of the pointy end of the automobile food pyramid.

I was born in 53...In high school as a junior I had a 69 roadrunner..(that was 1970)..then in 1971 as a senior...I traded it in on a new 71 Demon 340...Now at 68...I have my 16 HC M6..and my 18 Demon...I saw the best of times...TWICE !!!

 

[Demoniccat]

The best of ice ages twice, way to go 71 Demon

 

[72 440 Barracuda]

I agree. Especially for someone like me. Every pic of me as a kid was with a toy car. I'm an ate up gearhead with a serious addiction to large c.i.d. muscle cars. The classics are fun and all, but the Hellcat is the fastest pure muscle car of all time. I wasn't about to leave this planet one day without having owned one.

I grew up as a teenager in the early-mid 90s. What I like to call the dark ages of performance cars... almost as bad as the 80s. I didn't think I'd ever have the chance to live in another muscle car golden age. I always wished that I could go back in time and be born in 1950 so I could order a brand new 70 Super Bee. When the '19 HC came out, I wasn't going to let the opportunity go by. I had a 2018 T/A 392 at the time that I traded in at a loss (was upside down about 5 grand) just so I could lock in the Hellcat. I took it on the chin a little for the financing, but it was a good decision. The production year was very short and they had deep discounts due to surplus materials, so I saved more than I took on the chin in the trade/financing. Then, with 2021, they raised the prices again and slashed a lot of the incentives. The other upshot is that I was the only person who ordered a Hellraisin/painted satin graphics narrow body in all of 2021. So, not only did I get a 1 of 1, but a major 1 of 1 based on exterior paint alone.

I figure for a once in a lifetime car, I did OK and I'm fortunate enough to be blessed with enough aligned stars to have the means to buy it, keep, and store it so that it'll hopefully be with me a very long time. There's simply nothing better. There's other cars in the world, but none built for a muscle loving gearhead like me. This is the tip top of the pointy end of the automobile food pyramid.

You describe my frame of mind perfectly!
I grew up in the 70's, and started driving in the 80's. My ultimate car for pure speed was a 70 HemiCuda with a 4spd and the ultimate car for an overall package was a 70 AAR Cuda (4spd of course). I always thought I missed the heyday of being a car guy - what could be better than hitting driving age in the mid to late 60's, capping it off with 1970 - the ultimate year for a muscle car guy... I could never afford either of my ultimate cars so I did the next best thing - building a 72 Barracuda - adding a big block 440, and converting another 72 Cuda into an AAR Cuda... the best I thought I could do.
Then along comes the Challenger in the 2000's and the Hellcat in 2015. I never dreamed they could improve on the performance pinnacle year - 1970!!! Buying a 2015 Hellcat in 2019 was also good timing - the Hellcat "only" had 707hp - being topped by the new Demon and Redeye... This was a blessing for me - The prices for "just" a Hellcat softened enough I could afford one. A "used" 2015 Pitch Black Hellcat M6 with 3500 miles found a new home in my garage - by far the fastest car I have ever owned!
I now own the best muscle car to ever hit streets!!!

 

[Alain]

I had been following internet chatter leading up to the reveal video on YouTube where Tim Kuniskis revealed the horsepower for the first time...

When I saw that video, my jaw dropped and I started to really follow the car closely. ADMs in my area were outrageous and I refused to pay them but I still had tremendous interest in the car. Like others, I chose to wait till the second model year because of the ADMs and to see if the car would be reliable. At that time, 707 horsepower and 600+ lbs of torque in a production car was unheard of, there was a lot of talk that the transmission, clutch, rear differentials were going to be unreliable due to the power.

Then, I saw the "predators" commercial

after seeing that commercial for the very fist time, I literally said out loud while sitting in my living room "I am getting a Hellcat". I did my due diligence, found a dealer in North Carolina that wasn't charging any ADMs, called them up, placed my order and had my 2016 B5, M6, Brass monkeys, Laguna sepia interior delivered to NJ in June of 2016.

I haven't stopped smiling ever since !! Every spring when I take the cover off the car I fall in love all over again !!!!!

 

[Magnified]

lol, thanks for sharing that, man. Great story, and I'm sure the marketing guys will use that as a quote for years in presentations! "See, this guy was totally convinced by our advertising campaign!"

 

[1971demon]

I had been following internet chatter leading up to the reveal video on YouTube where Tim Kuniskis revealed the horsepower for the first time...

When I saw that video, my jaw dropped and I started to really follow the car closely. ADMs in my area were outrageous and I refused to pay them but I still had tremendous interest in the car. Like others, I chose to wait till the second model year because of the ADMs and to see if the car would be reliable. At that time, 707 horsepower and 600+ lbs of torque in a production car was unheard of, there was a lot of talk that the transmission, clutch, rear differentials were going to be unreliable due to the power.

Then, I saw the "predators" commercial

after seeing that commercial for the very fist time, I literally said out loud while sitting in my living room "I am getting a Hellcat". I did my due diligence, found a dealer in North Carolina that wasn't charging any ADMs, called them up, placed my order and had my 2016 B5, M6, Brass monkeys, Laguna sepia interior delivered to NJ in June of 2016.

I haven't stopped smiling ever since !! Every spring when I take the cover off the car I fall in love all over again !!!!!

I know the feeling...it never ever gets old....and my jaw dropped as well when I heard the numbers...I just couldn't wrap my head around those numbers...