Dodge Challenger Hellcat Hits 174 MPH With a Christmas Tree on its Roof

If you’ve ever bought a Christmas tree, you probably know it’s a good idea to drive slowly on the way home to make sure it stays in good shape. But if you’re Hennessey Performance, you strap it to the roof of a Dodge Challenger Hellcat Widebody and see how fast you can go.

In a new video, John Hennessey introduces us to a festive red Hellcat Widebody tasked with carrying out the mission. A suction-cupped roof rack from SeaSucker carries the tree as it blasts down the track at the Continental Tire proving grounds in Texas. Surprisingly, the tree looks pretty much intact by the end of the run, where it hit a top speed of 174 mph.

Without the Christmas tree but with the roof rack, this Hellcat Widebody was able to hit a top speed of 177 mph on the track. Dodge lists the top speed for the Hellcat Widebody at 195 mph.

Hennessey said it originally asked Dodge if it could strap a tree to the Demon, but unfortunately the automaker didn’t make this model available for the test. But the Hellcat Widebody is the next best thing, as it features Demon-spec wheel flares that add 3.5 inches to the car’s overall width. It also gets the Demon’s front splitter, but retains the Power-bulge aluminum hood and rear spoiler from the standard Hellcat. Under the hood, there’s still a 6.2-liter supercharged HEMI V-8 making 707 hp, although the car promises better acceleration and lap times over the standard Hellcat.

See for yourself how the Christmas tree holds up in the video below.

Source: Hennessey Performance via YouTube

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