Picture: Edmunds Inside Line

Do you know what we love about the muscle car wars? You never know what to expect next. And with the Big Three pushing their biggest names from that distant, unique era, you better believe there’s some serious muscle under those hoods. Ford has been accused of sandbagging the horsepower numbers of the new 5.0 liter V8 engine, but they apparently aren’t the only ones.

It would appear that the ’11 Dodge Charger R/T, which Inside Line recently strapped to a dyno, makes a lot more horsepower than the Pentastar is letting on.

Just how much more? Well consider this; the R/T model still packs a 5.7 liter HEMI V8, which is now rated at 370 horsepower and 395 ft-lbs of torque. That’s an improvement in both numbers over the 2010 model, but still over 40 horsepower less than the Mustang, and 50 horsepower less than a six-speed ’11 Camaro. Or is it?

The results are, well, shocking to say the least. The ’11 Dodge Charger R/T put down 360 horsepower and 393 ft-lbs of torque at the wheels. Wait, whaaat? That’s almost dead nuts what the Charger was supposed to be rated at the flywheel. If you factor in parasitic power loss of 15%, you’re talking about closer to 414 horsepower and 450 ft-lbs of torque. Holy crap.

And the 5.7 liter V8 engine had multi-engine displacement, which shuts off four of the eight cylinders for better gas mileage, and it’s the only of the Big Three’s muscle cars to be offered with all-wheel drive. The new Charger is a real winner all the way around, and we can’t wait to see it lined up against its Blue Oval and Bowtie-wearing peers.