Packing 4 electrical motors pushing greater than 1,000 hp via all 4 of its Yokohama Advan racing tires, the brand new Dodge Hornet R/T FC1-X can blast from 0-60 in simply 1.4 seconds!
“With 4 axial flux motors producing the equal of 1,070 horsepower, these machines don’t simply speed up – they bend the legal guidelines of physics,” reads the breathy, exuberant press launch from Dodge asserting the brand new Nitrocross Group E racing machine. “We’re speaking 0-60 in 1.4 seconds. That’s quick sufficient to rearrange your inner organs and make you query your life selections, all earlier than you hit second gear. And with practically 2g of acceleration from a standing begin, these automobiles don’t simply bounce the 200-foot gaps frequent in Nitrocross – they virtually obtain low Earth orbit.”
Props to Sean Yoder, the press launch’s credited writer, for leaving off an exclamation level after “low Earth orbit.” (He’s a greater man than me!) However, whereas I stand by my feedback in regards to the emotional nature of this specific Dodge press launch, I feel it’s justified.
Take into account that the Dodge model has been one thing of a strolling cadaver of late. Stripped of the RAM vehicles that carried the model via the troubled 80s, 90s, and out of the Nice Recession, Chrysler Daimler Cerberus FCA Stellantis management has additionally stripped Dodge of quantity nameplates just like the Neon, market leaders just like the Caravan, and jaw-dropping halo automobiles just like the Viper. Dodge hasn’t had a lot to write down breathy press releases about for a protracted whereas, is what I’m saying. So good on Yoder for carping the diem.
And what a diem it’s! For context, the record-breaking Mannequin S Plaid that ran an 8-second 1/4 mile a number of weeks again was a full 4 tenths slower to 60 than the Hornet claims to be.
That’s shifting, and valuable few automobiles of any sort can whip themselves from 0-60 in lower than two Mississippis.
To perform the feat, the Dodge Hornet R/T FC1-X contains a tubular chassis, carbon-fiber chassis tub, Alcon braking system, electrical power-assisted steering, entrance and rear double wishbone R53 suspension with adjustable camber/caster with 12-inch wheel journey and adjustable entrance and rear anti-roll bars.
It definitely seems the half
“We’re trying ahead to an awesome inaugural Nitrocross season for the Dodge model,” Matt McAlear, Dodge model CEO, was quoted as saying. “With a championship-winning group like Dreyer & Reinbold Racing carrying the Dodge banner and with followers getting the possibility to expertise the Dodge Hornet up shut and private via our Dodge Hornet Rally Rides.”
The brand new Hornet rally racer will likely be piloted by two-time Group E sequence champion Robin Larsson. Larsson will likely be, “flanked by a roster that reads like a who’s who of rally racing: Fraser McConnell, Andreas Bakkerud, and 17-year-old phenom Lia Block. Sure, that Block – as in Ken Block’s daughter. Speak about motorsport dynasties colliding!”
That’s a direct quote, too, by the way in which. For the PR group’s sake (not less than), right here’s hoping the automotive lives as much as the hype at its debut occasion in Richmond, VA, this weekend.
Electrek’s Take
Whereas the official press launch is huge on hype, it’s small on issues like battery specs, capability, and the way or why a four-motor monster just like the R/T FC1-X pertains to the road-going Hornet fashions. Fashions that, it must be famous, should not electrical (although there’s a PHEV model of the rebadged Alfa Romeo crossover).
That stated, Dodge CEO Matt McAlear stated Nitrocross is a “excellent venue” for the model as roughly 75% of followers are between the ages of 18 and 34, giving the corporate a approach to promote the Hornet to a “youthful, enthusiastic new viewers.” And if the model has any hope of surviving, they’re going to wish a brand new technology of younger followers.
All Dodge wants now could be a automobile these younger followers can afford! The road-going model of the 2025 Dodge Hornet R/T begins at $41,645.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Dodge Storage.
FTC: We use earnings incomes auto affiliate hyperlinks. Extra.