The idiom that is something is “as American as apple pie” could easily apply to piloting a hugely powerful V-8 muscle car as fast as its roaring engine will allow on an arrow straight bit of public highway. But unfortunately in the home of American muscle, Johnny Law won’t allow you to fully stretch the legs of a muscle car and hear its V-8 bellow at full tilt. That’s not the case on unrestricted stretches of the German autobahn, where going as fast as a car can go is a freedom not available to those in the “Land of the Free.”

And that’s a shame, because a video from YouTuber AutoTopNL recently took the 700-plus horsepower Dodge Charger Hellcat onto the autobahn, and it’s the kind of experience every enthusiast dreams of. The Hellcat may be a relative tourist to Germany, but this video showcases the American muscle is at home anywhere it’s permitted to chase its own red line.

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An American Beast In Germany: The Dodge Charger Hellcat

White Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye
Dodge/Stellantis
2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye in a hanger

The Dodge Charger Hellcat is unfortunately going to that great scrapyard in the sky due to the automaker’s forthcoming switch to electrification with models like the Charger Daytona EV. And no matter where you stand on the EV vs. ICE issue, it’s a loss that all enthusiasts can bemoan due to the Hellcat’s endearing and ludicrous performance.

The outgoing Charger Hellcat epitomizes American muscle with its 6.2-liter V-8 that delivers a neck-snapping 717 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque that zips the Dodge from 0-60 in just 3.8 seconds and to the quarter-mile-mark in 11.9 ticks at 124 mph. And that’s the “standard” Hellcat. The Redeye ups the ante to 797 horsepower, and the Jailbreak edition crosses the 800-horsepower threshold with 807 ponies. AutoTopNL didn’t specify which model was tested on the channel’s recent autobahn run, but it seems inconsequential as it’s a hell of a ride no matter the trim.

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Chasing The Charger Hellcat’s Top Speed

The 2023 Charger Hellcat tops out at an eye-popping 203 mph, a speed that is two-and-a-half times what we in the U.S. are permitted to drive here (80 mph on certain highways). And the above video showcases that when speed limits aren’t a factor, the Hellcat will chase its top speed like an excitable dog chases its tail all while giving the kind of V-8 roar that causes spines to tingle.

In the video, our seemingly fearless driver quickly puts the hammer down and charges to about 155 mph (250 kph) on several occasions, a speed at which many cars are electronically limited. But not the Hellcat. It continues to charge (pun intended) on another run to a staggering 185 mph (298 kph), not far off the Hellcat’s top speed. It’s so speedy and powerful, a cell phone tracking its rate of travel falls off a dash mount and hits the driver’s leg as the speedo nudges 180 mph.

One aspect the video showcases is how driving on the autobahn is so much different from what we experience on U.S. highways, even beyond the inescapable speed limits. Slower drivers are invariably in the right lane, showcasing good lane discipline, or are willing to move over when the hulking Hellcat is becoming rapidly larger in their rearview mirror. That, coupled with the ability to go as fast as possible, makes us certainly envious of the driver who was able to take this emblematic American muscle car to its limits — all while on a public road.