The News for May 23rd, 2014

Welcome to the Hooniverse News! As always, this is a weekly recap of some of the biggest stories in the automotive industry without the fluff or bull. I just throw in a little opinion of mine because I can. This week:

• Dodge reveals the Hellcat, their most powerful Challenger ever

• Mercedes-Benz shows off the C-Class Estate, still a Europe-only gig

• 2015 Ford Mustang pricing leaked

• 2015 Hyundai Sonata reasonably priced

2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat

This week, Dodge finally pulled the covers off of the most powerful Challenger they’ve ever built: the Hellcat. The Challenger itself just got a bit of a facelift as announced a few weeks ago, but this bit of Challenger news is something that fans have been anticipating for quite some time. Much like Grumman’s Hellcat warbird that served over the Pacific, Dodge’s Hellcat is big, tough, powerful, and something you don’t want to mess with – unless you have one of its direct competitors (GT500 and ZL1) in which case it’s fair game. Dodge and SRT are bringing this muscle car war contender to the market with their most powerful V8 ever put in a Chrysler production car. This monster is a 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat V8 producing “600 plus” horsepower thanks to a forged crank steel shaft, forged allow pistons, heat treated aluminum alloy cylinder heads, and other enhancements to help handle that power without catastrophic engine failure. Power is sent to nowhere else but the rear wheels through a standard six-speed manual (featuring a throwback ball shift knob) or eight-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission (with a T-grip and fancy paddles). To help the car use all that power effectively, Dodge and SRT engineers have included four different driving modes ranging from default, sport, track, and a custom setting which can alter power, shifting points and speeds, steering response and weight, traction settings, and suspension stiffness. There’s also a fifth setting affectionately called “Valet Mode”, which greatly limits power, kicks in the rev limiter at 4,000 RPM, deactivates manual mode in automatic cars, blocks first gear, disables launch control, keeps traction control on, and forces the default driving mode on. Where’s the trust? 15.4-inch front Brembo brakes, the largest ever fitted to an SRT vehicle, will certainly be a welcomed feature on a car like this. Engineers were also busy reworking the exterior for a more aerodynamic profile. A bespoke front end features a new splitter and additional intakes for feeding that Hellcat V8 all the air it needs. It even features a cold air intake integrated into one of the parking lamps. Changes made to the exterior don’t end there, with bespoke twenty-inch wheels finished in “Bronze Monkey”. The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat will enter production sometime this Fall and will be accompanied by the also reworked Challenger SRT 392, which features a familiar 485 horsepower Hemi V8. Pricing is not available yet. Between the Shelby GT500, Camaro ZL1, and now the Challenger SRT Hellcat, this muscle car war just got very interesting again. [Source: Dodge, Autoweek]

Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate

For the love of wagons, Mercedes-Benz have dropped some details and photos of their all-new C-Class Estate which sports a new family face and new lightweight construction to make it just another wagon that America envies. Available in Europe by September, the 2015 C-Class Estate features a fairly nice-looking sheet metal arrangement which draws obvious inspirations from the Benz Estate family as well as the C-Class sedan it’s based on. It may not be as instantly lovable as similar offerings from other German brands or even Jaguar and Cadillac, but it’s still enough to make us wonder how crossovers got more popular in America than wagons did. Half of the aforementioned sheet metal is aluminum which results in a 140-pound weight loss compared to the outgoing C-Class Estate even though the new Estate is bigger and has more electronics stuffed inside. Speaking of stuffing things inside, total cargo capacity is claimed to be 53 cubic feet. The rear air suspension is also self-leveling for when that 53 cubic feet of storage space is filled with rocks or your mother in law. Whoever is riding along will surely enjoy whatever amenities Mercedes-Benz thought to provide (whatever is in the other C-Class models will be in here too) including that famous “we forgot to find space for the infotainment screen” tablet mounted not-so-discretely on the dash. Because this is a European car only on sale in Europe, buyers get a full range of engine options to choose from, including gas, diesels, and hybrid powertrains. Power ranges from a modest 156 horsepower to a respectable 333 horsepower. The 2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate gets added to my very long list of “Cars I Wish Were Sold in America”. [Source: Mercedes-Benz via Autoweek]

2015 Ford Mustang priced

I don’t believe Ford was ready for the world to know the pricing info for their upcoming 2015 Mustang, but by the power of the Internet, the world  knows anyway. MustangG6 forums reports that they’ve uncovered the magical numbers that potential customers have been waiting to scribble down on their checks. The prices they’re reporting for some of the key models are as follows:

• 2015 Ford Mustang V6 Fastback (hardtop): $24,425
• 2015 Ford Mustang V6 Convertible: $29,925
• 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Fastback: $25,995
• 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Convertible: $35,495
• 2015 Ford Mustang GT Fastback: $32,925
• 2015 Ford Mustang GT Premium Convertible: $42,425
• 2015 Ford Mustang GT 50 Year Limited Edition: $46,995

All prices include the standard six-speed manual and the delivery fee. The full rundown with each package/engine/body style combination along with all the optional extras is available on the MustangG6 forums here. Does the pricing change your mind about the new Mustang at all? For nearly $47,000, that 50 Year Limited Edition Mustang (pictured) had better be worth something in the future. [Source: MustangG6 Forums via Autoweek]

2015 Hyundai Sonata priced

A few weeks ago Hyundai revealed the all-new Sonata to a big crowd in New York and this week we’ve got the all-important price tag from them as well. $21,150 is the admission price for the 2015 Hyundai Sonata, which features a completely new design both inside and out, lots of standard features, and revised power plants. The entry level model at that $21,150 price tag is equipped with a revised 2.4-liter inline-four producing 185 horsepower, a six-speed automatic transmission, seven airbags, some fancy tech features, and of course a ride which is quieter and more refined than the outgoing model. Two additional trim levels are available with the 2.4-liter engine, those being Sport ($23,175) and Limited ($26,525). The range-topper is the Sport 2.0T model ($28,575), which as the name suggests, utilizes a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder capable of 245 horsepower and 260 lb.-ft. of torque. The 2015 Hyundai Sonata is on sale now with dealership availability beginning later this month. Production is already well underway in Montgomery, Alabama. [Source: Hyundai]