To the surprise of exactly no one, the numero uno production Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat built will head straight to the auction block at Barrett-Jackson — a precedent set by the first C7 Chevrolet Corvette, the first Camaro Z/28 and the first 2015 Ford Mustang in the vehicular equivalent of camping out for three days for a “Star Wars” movie and then running through the movie theater yelling “first!”
Already, Barrett-Jackson is calling the Hellcat “iconic.” Hellcat VIN0001 has an eight-speed TorqueFlite automatic with black Laguna leather seats. It features a special shade of red, carried over from the Dodge Viper — the first of which, come to think of it, also went to Barrett-Jackson. And like the first Viper, the House That Craig Built is selling the Hellcat to benefit charity: This time, 100 percent of the price will go to Opportunity Village, which helps people in the Las Vegas area who have intellectual disabilities. Founded in 1954, the charity operates three centers and a thrift shop around the Vegas area. Since its founding, it “has helped Southern Nevada’s most vulnerable citizens integrate into society while earning a paycheck, a feeling of achievement and a renewed sense of independence,” according to its website, which also bills it as “Las Vegas’ favorite charity,” next to Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill.
2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat burnout
News and pricing on the 707-hp 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat broke yesterday ahead of the company’s July 22 embargo. That means we can talk about everything but the driving experience, which …
The muscle car of muscle cars will also come with a video documentary of the Hellcat’s development, vehicle footage and photographs in an “electronic vehicle build book.” So, an iPad app, we’d assume? If so, the lucky bidder will receive a Hellcat logo’d iPad sleeve to match. A signed Hellcat lithograph and various certificates demonstrating the car’s vaunted provenance and the owner’s virility may also be included.
A bit of perspective: That first 2015 Mustang went for $350,000. The first Camaro Z/28 went for nearly twice that. The first C7 Corvette went for an eye-twitching $1.05 million — we’d wager the Hellcat sells for a price in between the two Chevrolets. After all … 707 hp.
The world will find out on Sept. 25-27, when the Barrett-Jackson auction invades the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip. Upon winning, we expect the new owner to lay down an unbroken stretch of rubber all the way to the Peppermill.