GOING STARRY-EYED

Dodge Challenger Scat Pack. Chrysler makes a Challenger called the Hellcat which has its regular 6.4-litre “Hemi” V8 engine fitted with a supercharger that kicks out a monstrous 735bhp. The Challenger Scat Pack delivers the visual drama of the Hellcat but with an unsupercharged engine that produces a still-impressive 485bhp.

The car we’re driving is painted in a lovely metallic purple called Plum Crazy. US car marketing departments were creative and witty in the 60s and early 70s and came up with great campaigns. Dodge called its high performance arm the Scat

Pack. Fellow Chrysler brand Plymouth called its performance arm The Rapid Transit System.

Here endeth your short history lesson in American muscle cars. That leaves us with the Scat Pack, £72,000 of guts and fury.

First there’s the noise. The V8 has an incredibly sharp bark and rumble that sounds fantastic but not loud enough to wake a street.

First thing I do on pulling out of Ian Allan’s forecourt is accidentally chirp the rear tyres, caught out by the engine’s instant throttle response. Ironically, this level of instant power delivery is most usually found in electric cars. Our car has an automatic gearbox but you can buy one with a six-speed manual if you’re old school and have a strong left leg.

The left-hand drive Challenger feels big on Surrey roads and focus is required to keep wing mirrors and wheel rims scar-free. You don’t need to go fast, just listening to the V8’s rumble and catching your reflection in shop windows is a buzz enough.

You’ve a range of driving modes and a whole suite of wild and crazy features such as Line Lock. This is used by drag racers where the front brakes come on so you can perform a “burn out” to warm the rear tyres before making a run on the drag strip. Using this feature on the road will get you in a lot of trouble with the law and wear the tyres out.

If you could handle fuel consumption in the teens, this would make a good family car. There’s a huge amount of interior space and the boot could hold a small piano. One of Ian Allan’s customers has ordered a Challenger because his wife’s wheelchair so easily fits in the boot.

The Scat Pack is a wonderful piece of automotive theatre that in the era of electrification will be a play that won’t run for ever.

Rolls-Royce’s enormous Cullinan SUV is not one of my favourite luxury cars – I’m more of a Ghost fan which is a really lovely Rolls. But the company has just launched a special edition of the Cullinan, and it’s limited to just 62 examples. The name of the car is the Karman Line. Stargazers will know this is the name given to the invisible boundary 62 miles up which marks the point where outer space begins. The Cullinan Karman Line features special artwork across its fascia and 1,183 fibre-optic ‘stars’ in the headlining. Actually, it sounds rather wonderful. As usual, Rolls doesn’t give a price.