The Charger SRT8 is Dodge’s modern-day muscle car, serving up 425 horsepower and all the acceleration you can handle. What? Too subtle? Then check out the Super Bee, a limited-edition Charger SRT8 that recalls one of Dodge’s most potent muscle cars of the late ’60s. How does the Dodge Charger SRT8 Super Bee work in today’s world? Read on. Base price (including $2,100 gas guzzler tax) $41,395, price as tested $46,960, EPA fuel economy 14 city, 20 highway.
First Glance: Wanna race?With its bright “Detonator Yellow” paint, black-tape graphics, and huge 20″ aluminum wheels, the Dodge Charger SRT8 Super Bee is about as extroverted as you can get without resorting to neon or nudity. Wherever I went, people wanted to race. Countless cars, be they Corollas or Cayennes, would pull away full-throttle from the lights in an apparent effort to get me to flex the Bee’s muscle.
I didn’t take any of them up on it. If a cop happened to catch a glimpse of the action, who do you think would get the ticket? My money’s on the guy in the yellow car with the loud exhaust and black tape stripes. “No, really, officer, it was the middle-aged lady in the Ford Escape that was trying to get me to race.” Bullcrap, sir. Step out of the car and keep your hands where I can see them.
So no, I didn’t take any of them up on the offer.
But if I had, well, I’m sure I could have taken them.
In fact, I’m positive I could have taken them.
The original Dodge Super Bee appeared in 1968 (photo of a ’70 Bee here); it was basically a stripped-down Dodge Coronet with no options save an enormous engine. Today’s Super Bee is a limited production package (just 1,000 to be built) that tacks on $1900 to the Charger SRT8′s $36,595 price tag. The SRT8 includes the 6.1 liter HEMI engine, 20″ wheels, Brembo brakes, sport-tuned suspension, and enough attitude to fill a decent-sized lake; the Super Bee adds the aforementioned paint, badges and decals for the quarters, hood and trunk, plus yellow stitching for the interior and a badge with the car’s individual number.