Dodge extends Durango SRT Hellcat production by popular demand
Dodge had no trouble finding a home for the 2,000 units of the 710-horsepower Durango SRT Hellcat it plans to build; the model was sold out in approximately three months. Demand far exceeded supply, so the company will manufacture additional examples to keep power-hungry enthusiasts happy.
Company director Bob Broderdorf explained there are more sold orders than build slots in the system. Instead of forcing dealers to cancel sales, and hand-select which customers get an SRT Hellcat (likely with a sizeable mark-up), Dodge pledged to fill every request it has received so far. It won't open the order book again, however, so it's still too late to buy one new. If you missed your chance, your best bet is to hope one ends up in a store's inventory.
Building additional SRT Hellcats is not as simple as it sounds. Dodge said it can only manufacture the model for about six months because the Jefferson North assembly plant on the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan, is busy retooling for production of the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee, and because the Hellcat-powered Durango doesn't comply with the emissions regulations scheduled to come into effect nationwide for the 2022 model year. Without a minute to lose, the firm shuffled its parts supply channels to send more Hellcat bits to the Durango assembly line.
"As we finalized the production plan for this amazing SUV, we found a way to move some 6.2-liter Hemi Hellcat V8 engines from other vehicles to ensure every sold order in our systems will get built," said Broderdorf in an interview with Dodge Garage, which is an official publication of Stellantis. He added the next batch will be built in June.
Dodge told Autoblog it can't disclose more details, so we don't know how many additional examples of the Durango SRT Hellcat it will build. We're hoping it will publish a final number when production ends. What's certain is that the hot-rodded SUV is not serialized, so even a few hundred more examples shouldn't hurt its value or its collectability.
