Those buying the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat today will not find the option for manual transmission in the configurator – the company officially dropped it a couple of years ago. The Drive is now reporting that the stick shift is still available – you just have to do a little extra to obtain it.
Koons Tysons Corner Dodge has just announced on a forum dedicated to Dodge cars and Hellcat engines that it was accepting orders for new Challenger SRT Hellcat coupes that let you row your own gears. The buyers can choose any spec they like, including Widebody and other options.
According to the dealer, they create orders and then submit them to the manufacturer with a special request to make the car manual. There are no pricing details on the forum at the time of writing, but the stick shift could be cheaper than the 8A/T currently on sale.
In its modern guise, the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is a high-end muscle car packing a 6.2-liter V8 with 717 PS (707 hp / 527 kW) at the output end. Rumors are circulating that Dodge had originally only planned to discontinue the manual gearbox for a few years – long enough to polish the transmission design – and then bring it back. There has been no official confirmation, though.