But he forgot to learn how to drive a muscle car.
There’s no denying that in a dead heat, a Dodge Challenger Hellcat would absolutely mop the floor of any Dodge Charger Pursuit. Many departments opt for the laughably wimpy 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, but even if they go with the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 they’re still bringing a knife to a gunfight. And that’s exactly the situation in this dashcam footage of an Arkansas State Police trooper pursuing a Hellcat driver who decides to try blacking out and disappearing into the night.
Watch police get absolutely smoked by a Dodge Hellcat here.
Right off the bat, you’ll notice this genius is in a white Challenger Hellcat, so blacking out isn’t as effective as if the vehicle were a darker color. This is why the old moonshine runners chose black or something else dark, plus removed or painted over brightwork, because when you shut off all the lights you want to pretty much melt into the darkness.
The Hellcat driver is going so fast he doesn’t have time to slow down as he comes up on the trooper parked at the off-ramp gore point. Nobody sits at a place like that, so you can always be assured it’s a cop. And this trooper has his rear laser active, allowing him to confirm the Mopar is exceeding the speed limit.
With the chase on, the guy pulls away, then flips off the lights, but being in a white car you can still see him well enough. Then he does the absolutely boneheaded thing and hits the brakes, lighting up his backend like a Christmas tree. That’s another clue this driver has no idea what he’s doing. With the kind of skill we’ve seen from Arkansas State Police in the past, there’s little doubt the trooper is about to make him pay.
What’s even better is the Hellcat driver lets off the accelerator some, allowing the trooper to close the gap. He seems to have difficulty keeping the kitty from getting squirrely through the turns, which despite what some people online say, we know from experience isn’t that hard if you’re a skilled driver, and this guy absolute isn’t.
The trooper does make a couple of dumb mistakes, but the Hellcat driver makes many more. And if you’ve ever raced, you know even if you’re in a faster car, an accumulation of errors can cause you to lose. Still, even if you’re a bad driver, a Hellcat will allow you to make the police really work to pull you over. Just remember, the more you run, the more pissed the cops are going to be once they arrest you.
Check it out for yourself.
