The high-powered Dodge muscle car has been modified with police decals and flashing red and blue lights
by Brad Anderson
1 hour ago
- Challenger Hellcat Redeye can run the quarter-mile in under 11 seconds.
- This 797 hp beast won’t be used for police pursuits or high-speed chases.
- Police received the car through a court-ordered criminal forfeiture.
Criminals in Ohio might feel a chill at the thought of a Dodge Challenger Hellcat in highway patrol colors, but they can breathe easy, it won’t be hunting them down. This muscle car’s real assignment is parades and meet-and-greets, a showpiece that just happens to be capable of humiliating most production cars in a straight line.
Read: Street Racer’s Seized 1080 HP Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Is Now Serving Texas Police
The Ohio State Highway Patrol refers to it as a Hellcat, but it actually has the hood from a Hellcat Redeye. If it is indeed a Redeye, rather than just a ‘standard’ Hellcat, that means it has 797 hp on tap as opposed to “just” 707. These cars can run down the quarter-mile in less than 11 seconds, making them more than quick enough to chase down even the fastest stock production cars that most of us drive. However, Ohio residents won’t have to worry about that happening.
Built for the Crowd, not the Chase
As is often the case with high-powered cars added to police fleets, this Challenger will not be used to fight crime. Instead, it will be used at community events, allowing officers to engage with the community. Despite this, officers were happy to promote just how quick the car is, sending it down the drag strip in a video shared to social media.
From Forfeiture to Fleet
To get the car ready for police use, new decals have been applied to the exterior, and flashing red and blue lights have been added behind the front grille. The Ohio State Highway Patrol notes that they didn’t purchase the car from a dealership. Instead, it came from a court-ordered criminal forfeiture, and had police not decided to add it to their fleet, it likely would have been sold or destroyed.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a seized Hellcat added to a police fleet in the US. Three years ago, the Texas Highway Patrol added a modified Challenger Hellcat to its lineup, which had been upgraded to deliver 1,080 horsepower. It was seized when the owner was caught street racing and fleeing from officers, reaching speeds of up to 160 mph (258 km/h).
