2026 Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak Quick Review

Welcome to Extra Throttle House. I'm Thomas. And I'm James. And we're here because of a class action lawsuit. That mandates our presence? No, we're not involved. But when this car came out, the Durango Hellcat. This is when the Stellantis PR rep just starts to just... Listen, this is a great story. When this car came out, Dodge very clearly said they were only making it for one year. So tons of people, as many as could buy them. They also said they were making only 2,000. And that year they were like, quick, make 3,000. Right, so then they made that many and people bought them thinking that they were going to become collectible. 2021. And then 2022? They didn't make another car. That's it. Wow. We got a collectible. And then from 2020, no, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026. They made them. They kept making them. And so the owners lodged a lawsuit against them, saying that they had overpaid, thinking they were buying this special thing. And it recently got dismissed on the basis, if I read this correctly, I'm not a lawyer, on the basis that they proved no one at Dodge Planned to bring it back when they said that right in so in the moment They didn't think that they were gonna do the thing that was illegal. Yeah, so since they didn't believe it then It came down to, I didn't mean to. Yeah, it literally didn't mean to. Here's the good news. We still buy them. The world has been blessed with more Durango Hellcats and this car is amazing. And the price has stayed exactly the same. No, that's gone up. That's not true. But in five years, it hasn't gone up that much. No, this one was about 115 Canadian, fully spec'd. And now it's 150. 150, that seems like a lot. Well, this is the jailbreak, which means you can customize it even more. That's what the jailbreak part means. The point is, somehow you can still get a supercharged, 710 horsepower, V8, all-wheel drive Hellcat. It's brand new. When you told me, you know you can still get a Durango Hellcat, I was like, really? Why? How? How is it possible? With all of the cars that are coming out right now, everything is so tech-laden and filled with assistance features and efficiency. You can still buy a supercharged V8 SUV. And the residuals are still quite good, even though they didn't do the one year. This is an Octane Red, obviously always a fun color name, which is actually not as fun as some of their names. Racing stripes, it's got all the stuff. Family of 12 in there. Or two Americans. That's not even true anymore actually, the obesity rate. Thanks, Ozempic. Thank you. Anyway, can we drive this? Because I just, I want to relive. I want to drive it. Okay, you drive it. If you want to feel fear, I have to drive it. Yeah, you go. Does it still hit 3.3 seconds to 60? Is that what we hit? We'll find out. Okay. All right, I forgot that this was updated because this isn't the old, old Stellantis infotainment. Yeah, it used to be way slower. Now you press SRT, boom. Yeah. It used to be... Yeah, really, really slow. Really slow. But that's totally fine now. Okay. But it is a little bit transporting back in time here. Like, we filmed the new Dodge Charger years ago. No, but this is before shitification. Yes, and then it didn't change. Right. But I don't know if Stellantis should be part of pre and post and shitification, because it's a bit ---- normally. No, I know, I know, I know. But at least this is not overcomplicated right off the bat. Like, we've been in a lot of modern cars recently, and I find myself getting overwhelmed like an old man. Well, I mean, it's not busy. There's a lot going on with the S&T launch. But I know what all these things are, because they're so straightforward. It's just climate stuff that's always been there, and then your performance things. I don't remember seeing the forged carbon fiber. That's probably the jailbreak stuff, I think, right? That's nice, the carbon fiber. Yeah, it's a nice touch. All right, can you just do launch control, please? This is the only reason anyone came to this video. Launch control? Yeah. OK, so put me in all the right stuff. OK, oh, jeez. Because I feel like transmission and eco. What is the point in having a red key if you stay... Oh, God. All right. All right. Come to a stop. Okay, I'm going to do it just here. Yeah. Are you doing... Is it going to measure it? I don't know if it does or not, but we're just going to... Did you turn off traction control? No, that's because we're in track mode. No, I don't think you need to be. Let's keep that one. It's an all-wheel drive, you baby. There you go. Launch. Oh, it did turn off traction. Apply full throttle. Here we go. Yep. Oh! Ha ha ha ha! Oh, I forgot how ridiculous that is. Oh, it is the only Hellcat you can floor it in. Yes, all of the other ones would still be back there spinning their tires. And I forgot these tiny little penis shifters. The penis shifters, yeah. Oh, God, there just isn't anything like that right now, is there? No. Unless you go into like the hypercar space, you're just not, you're not. But here's the thing. This is a brand new car. Yeah. This year. Yeah. But that, is that just laziness on the part of the manufacturer? Electra. No, it is, of course. This is just Dodge doing what Dodge has been doing for years, knowing that they can just keep making the same car, and people are just going to keep buying them. But for a minute there, we were worried that they couldn't. They went to the EV Dodge Charger Daytona. They did the Hurricane 6, and there was this sort of air of, well, that's the last V8 we've got. And now it's like, V8 everything. V8 all the things. V8 everything. Yeah, and hmm. I feel like we've given Dodge a hard time for years for not updating this stuff. But now when you look back and zoom out, I'm starting to realize that they didn't need this. It's the most inappropriate road for this car imaginable. We are testing almost the British B road. Oh my God. We're journalists testing things. Yes, Dodge was just doing, they made one good car and everyone kept buying it. So like, why would we change it? We don't want to ruin what people like. All this needs is an interior refresh. I like the new interior on the Dodge Charger. Like if it gives it that language and it's a bit cleaner. Yeah, maybe, I just don't want anything else. No, change nothing else. From the new Dodge Charger. Ha ha ha. The fact that Durango does this, I mean, we have put this, Through its paces. Through its paces. We raced the Cadillac Escalade, which is the, which is arguably the only other crazy American SUV other than the Trackhawk. Yeah, pretty much. This thing drives smaller than the Escalade, though, doesn't it? That's why I'm taking it. Oh, it drives way smaller. It's also 100 grand less. 100 grand less? Holy crap. It is less car, not from an engine perspective, but in every other way. Oh, those downshifts are pretty nuts, honestly. You've got to remember, this is a three row. This isn't the Jeep Trackhawk. Chipmunks. Chipmunks. They were chasing each other adorably. OK, question. Yes. Remove nationalities from your brain. Whoa. Are you a cool dad? Well, because I know where you're going to go with that answer. No, you don't. Are you a cool dad if you have a Durango Hellcat? Is it the coolest dad car? That's a good question. No, it's not. It isn't the coolest dad car. So, recently... It's not, I'm sorry. No, okay, go on, what is it? I don't know what the coolest dad car is, but... GTC4 Lusso? No, no, no, no, the coolest dad car is going to be some sort of, like, well-used classic. That's not safe, though. This has all modern airbags. Oh, you mean, like, the dad car to actually, like, take your kids around and stuff. Oh, interesting. Well, it's a Giulia Quadrifoglio, obviously, because, you know. It's in the family! One of these was in my neighbor's driveway a few weeks ago. Okay. Because it turns out their cousin is a Stellantis big dog. Right. And it was there. And I spent the whole week, every time I ran into someone, I was like, do you even know what's in that thing? And they're like, I didn't even say hello to you. I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. But you see that thing over there? Do you even understand what's on that driveway? And that is my way of knowing that I think this is super cool. Oh, my lord. It's just silly. This is the car I feel I need to shout about from the rooftops. Actually, we're right behind a Rivian R1S right now, which is interesting because. These are two distinct flavors of American big, powerful SUV. Yeah, that's wicked quick. That's wicked quick. But it's also a completely different American buying that than this. You can't do that. You can't. No. You can't. No. No one can do that, though. No. No one. No one can do that anymore. Oh, this big, comfy, all-drive... I know. I got cool seats. I got air conditioning. I got visibility. I got a good ride. I got a powerful engine. It's just kind of easy to get it. You know what I mean? We filled up one of these with people and destroyed an Escalade V. That's right. We did. Destroyed. Totally forgot about that. Here's my question. have dodged this lawsuit, right? Yeah. Dodge... They got away with it. Somehow, which is so greasy, by the way. But in for a penny, in for a pound. Why do we still not yet have a Durango Hellcat Redeye? Give me 807 horsepower. No, I know. Just do it. Like, if you're still making the car, you might as well. It's not like they're not going to sell them. As soon as, as soon as a baby boomer American man. If anybody sees limited edition attached in any way to an American-made performance car, they'll buy it. And they'll have their lawyer ready for the next class action lawsuit, obviously, when it stops being limited edition. Yeah. Dodge boasts that because it's a jailbreak, they did what we once did with Porsche Panameras, where they multiplied the amount of options to figure out actually how many variants there can be. Right. And I think, and they might be off by a couple of hundred thousand. But they said that there's six million ways to spec a Durango Hellcat now, thanks to the jailbreak. Which is why that guy named Rick will be at the car meet with his Durango Hellcat, and he'll be like, this is actually only one of one in purple metallic with the red stitching. On his fold-out chair. Yeah, exactly right. All right, let's talk about modern Dodge for a second. Because the Rumble Bee is coming out of this crazy street truck, which from factory They warranty at 900 horsepower if you go for the optional package. Yeah, that's cool. That's a cool, cool, cool choice by them. Yeah. This week, we're going to see news of the Superbee. Yep. And that's going to be the most aggressive version of the Hurricane 6 Dodge Charger, which, by the way, with four doors looks quite good. I think the Hurricane 6 has potential. I need to see it completely unhinged. Right? Yes. Do you know what I mean? I still think the best version of it we experienced was in the Wagoneer. It was like, whoa. You're like, whoa. Oh, right. Yeah. Yeah, but it was only good in the Wagoneer because we were expecting it to be worse. Yes. In the Charger, it was just fine. It was just fine in the Charger. Everything about the chassis let stuff down. It's interesting, because like the chart, wait, Jesus, which one is it? The Charger that we drove? Yes. That car was crap not because of the engine, per se, but it was also the transmission and the way that it drove. Yes. Right? And you realize how important a good transmission is, because this thing is just. Cranking through gears. It is slow though. But that's okay as long as there's drama to the slowness. Oh, there's drama. Like the Aventador is proof of that. Yes. Right? Just you hear the little supercharger whine on the downshifts and it just is good, it's just good. So my question is, in a world where Dodge is starting to go insane again. Which is where Dodge needs to be, no question, that's where they belong. It's all they've got. It's all, it's really the only move they've got really. Imagine if the crazy, there was probably a kid in your school who was just nuts, like jumping off the walls crazy, right? Yeah, his name was Riley, good kid. Riley, okay, that's a great name for a crazy kid. Yeah, exactly right. Imagine if he came into school one day. Every other thing else is the same, and he was just calm. Yeah. You'd be like, Riley sucks now. Riley would not be. He wouldn't be like, oh, Riley would jump off that. Give Riley a dollar, and he'll eat an eraser. Right? Exactly. You know what I mean? Like, that's right. Like, Riley's going to say, hey, Riley, do a backflip off that thing. OK. But I think Dodge is going back there now. Yes. And somehow, they've made this for enough years that it's bridging the gap somehow. Somehow. Because, you know, it's warranted at this point to have a little bit of a discussion about the in shittification. Just a quick one. Okay. Because while this was crap when it came out, and still is objectively crap in many ways, I think it's locked in time as a good example of just how much we actually need to operate and enjoy a vehicle every day. Right. You just genuinely don't need any more than this. Because it gets the fundamentals right. Like, some things that haven't shitified still get the fundamentals correct. Yes. So the fact that it is a good ride, the seats are comfortable. Yes, that is above all other things. But in terms of just livability, usability, you know, just personal interface with the vehicle that you have to drive every day. Without even thinking, you get in this car, you push the start button, you go cha-chunk into drive, and you put your right foot down, good noises happen, and you get to your destination. You don't actually need to do anything else. No. In modern cars, if you don't set things up and turn things off and turn things on and fiddle with that and do this, and you go, I got the wrong things up on my screen, it's a bit too distracting, like, it's just too much going on, and this is where I think it stopped. This is... This is locked in time in a good time. We hypothesized that the intensification happened in 2022. Yes. So this is 1BE. This is 1BE, yes. This is an example of how easy it can be to operate a vehicle. God, I like having to shout over a car. Yeah, it's good. You know what I mean? And not just a car, a modern day three-row SUV. Yes. Yeah. No, this is a cool, this is a big, really stupid, dumb vehicle I'd never buy, but I love it. It's my favorite hunk of ---- in the world. Absolutely. It's so good. Ah.