Dodge drivers exult in ‘red-key therapy’
Key fob unleashes extra horsepower in some muscle car models
No one will reveal how many red keys are out in the world.
It’s sort of a secret.
But thousands of people have taken home red keys to their Dodge muscle cars that unleash more than 700 horsepower – power that Wired magazine called “an exercise in bat---crazy engineering.”
Val Saph, 34, of Armada, Michigan, uses only the red key. His wife, Victoria, too.
Loyd Overstreet, 58, of Shreveport, Louisiana, won’t let his wife, Stacy, use a red key.
“My wife is only allowed the black key,” he said. “She can’t handle all that horsepower.”
For the cautious driver, the frightened driver or the teenage driver, the black key fob limits the drive to just 500 horsepower. (For context, that’s 105 more horsepower than the 2019 Ram 1500 pickup with a Hemi V8, which can haul actual horses.)
From nurses to financial analysts to military veterans, the men and women driving these insane vehicles love engines so powerful they can run 0 to 60 mph in a little more than three
seconds.
These cars “provide acceleration that will take your breath away,” said John McElroy, longtime industry observer and “Autoline After Hours” host. “Most people who have never experienced it will gasp or shriek at how fast they are accelerating.”
The models named “Demon” and “Hellcat” have inspired more than 5.2 million followers on Facebook. One muscle car group member evaluates potential romance by key color. Black? Boring. Red? Call me.
These hot red key fobs start the engines of only four vehicles:
❚ Charger SRT Hellcat – 707 horsepower
❚ Challenger SRT Hellcat – 717 horsepower
❚ Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye – 797 horsepower
❚ Challenger SRT Demon – 808 horsepower, and sold in 2018 only
‘Worries go away’
“If you just want to relax and get away, you jump in the car and go for a rip. I call it red-key therapy,” said Saph, 35, who owns a 2016 Challenger Hellcat. “All stresses in life are easily muted by that menacing exhaust note.”
Over the past five years, since the first Dodge Challenger and Charger Hellcat models were set loose on the streets, they continue to deliver unprecedented performance.
The two keys allow someone to live two distinct personalities, said Jonathan Klinger, spokesman for Hagerty, the Traverse City-Michigan-based collector car insurance and valuation company. “The black key allows you to exist peacefully on public roads. But the red key begs you to ... test your limits.”
Patrick Rall, 40, of Milford, Michigan, and his wife, Amanda, 38, met through an online Dodge forum.
“The only time we use the black key is when the car goes to the dealership for warranty work,” said Rall, a journalist who owns a Go Mango-orange 2017 Challenger Hellcat.
Sublime passion
“Dodge is doing so well because they are keeping it simple but offering the power,” said Paul Arseneau, 49, of Mansfield, Texas, a vice president of engineering at Dynocom Industries. “I truly think it will be one of the great classic cars 25 years from now.”
He liked the Ford Mustang but bought a black 2019 Challenger Hellcat Redeye Widebody because he preferred the larger interior, saying it allows the car to be used as a daily driver.
Steve Beahm, head of passenger car brands for Fiat Chrysler North America, said muscle car buyers are uniquely passionate.
“That passion extends from the sublime to subtle ‘Easter eggs,’ ” he said, “like a special red key fob, which unlocks the full power potential of their Dodge SRT Hellcat while the ‘ordinary’ black key fob limits power.” He noted that output can be capped even further using controls on the center screen to keep “the overzealous valet” in check.
The Auburn Hills, Michigan-based company doesn’t break down sales according to special packages, so it said it could not say how many people actually own the powerful Hellcats.
Consumers purchased 66,716 twodoor Challengers in 2018, up from 66,377 in 2015.
And since the debut of the Hellcat until March 2019, buyers snapped up 275,494 Challengers in all.
“Normally, you run through the city in the 500 mode. But you can change it in, like, 15 seconds at the red light when a Corvette pulls up beside you,” said Overstreet, who won’t give his wife the red key and who owns a Sublime Green 2015 Challenger Hellcat.
Drivers don’t even need to wait 15 seconds. They can actually just hit a button and instantly increase the horsepower.
Overstreet, who also has a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner, is a registered nurse who specializes in liver and kidney transplants. He points out that his wife, an RN who works in a stroke unit, is usually behind the wheel of a three-row Toyota Sequoia. “Daddy drives a hot rod and Momma drives a school bus.”
Brian Lee, 51, of Shelby Township, Michigan, runs a home improvement company by day and fields questions from little kids about his red key and black key at auto shows.
“They ask, ‘Do you use the red key?’ And I answer, ‘Is there any other?’ ” Lee said, laughing.
Bill Golling, 69, who started working in the car business washing vehicles and floors at his dad’s dealership in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, owns two Challengers, including a Plum Crazy (purple) 2018 limited-edition Dodge Demon.
“It is something when they say the red key is for 707 horsepower and the black key is ‘only’ 500,’ as if that can’t get you into enough trouble,” he said. “It is so cool, that car, when you start it. Absolutely exhilarating.”