Many of you may recall the story we broke of the first Hellcat to get totaled at just one hour after leaving the dealership. The car’s owner, Lance Utley was okay, as were his passengers, but the Hellcat didn’t fare too well. There was some speculation that the car might not be totaled as we reported, but seeing the car on the Insurance Auto Auctions web site confirms that the Hellcat indeed suffered the most from this accident .
Reports had stated that Utley lost control of the car, but according to the skidmarks at the scene it appears that he had over-corrected and went head on into the tree. The front of the car was pushed in pretty far, and from our experience with the Hellcat there just isn’t much room in front of that 707 horsepower supercharged Hemi.
A replacement Hellcat Hemi has been seen on the internet for roughly $16,000, and that engine has been sold with a reported two more engines on order. The price is listed as to be determined, so it’s anybody’s guess as to whether that price will shoot up with supply and demand, or remain fairly close to the first one sold.
Whatever the case, this Hellcat will likely be listed as a salvage title car considering the location and the upcoming auction. The IAA site lists the car as “vehicle starts” but that is subjective since the entire front end is pushed through the radiator and into the front of the engine. There is also no mention of what condition the six-speed transmission is in.
Both front air bags deployed, and the side airbags are intact. This leaves the question: who would bid on this car and what would the winner plan to do with this car? Your guess is as good as ours, there are lots of good parts left, but it would mean that either a theft recovery or a rear ended collision would have to take place, or someone who wants to make some upgrades to their R/T, perhaps? It’s happening in Colorado if you’re interested.