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Spy shooter confessional | Autoblog Podcast #554

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore and Green Editor John Snyder talk to SpiedBilde spy photographer Brian Williams about just how he manages to get the shots of those camouflaged prototypes. Then, our editors discuss driving the Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye Widebody. They also chat about a couple of news items, including the official reveal of the Audi E-Tron Quattro, as well as the latest happenings at Ferrari — like the beautiful Monza SP1 and SP2.Autoblog Podcast #554 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Chatting with spy photographer Brian Williams of SpiedBilde Driving the 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody Audi E-Tron Quattro Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2, and other Ferrari news Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

2020 Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock is as close as you can get to a new Demon

Although the Dodge Demon was an exclusive, one-year-only muscle car, Dodge has found ways of getting bits of that car to more people. First there was the Hellcat Redeye, that got a detuned version of the Demon engine, down from 840 horsepower to 797. Now there's the 2020 Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock. It starts with the Hellcat Redeye, but adds a bit of horsepower, and drag race-specific tires and suspension tuning to get one step closer to the monster Demon. The engine is basically the same supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V8 as the Redeye, but with a new engine calibration that bumps up horsepower by 10 to 807, though torque stays the same at 707 pound-feet. It's coupled to the same eight-speed automatic as the Hellcat Redeye, but it has also been retuned to shift 100 rpm later at 6,400 rather than 6,300 to squeeze as much out of each gear as possible. The rear differential is a limited-slip unit and comes standard with a 3.09:1 gear ratio, which is optional on regular Hellcat Redeyes. The Super Stock also gets revised chassis components. Instead of the regular Hellcat Brembo six-piston brakes up front, it gets lighter four-piston Brembo calipers with slightly smaller rotors, all in the name of going faster at the drag strip. The suspension has been retuned to shift weight to the rear wheels and improve traction at launch. In Track mode, the suspension switches to fully firm rebound and compression at the rear, and firm compression and soft rebound at the front to help facilitate the weight transfer. It stays in this mode as long as full throttle is applied, and reverts to the standard Track settings when lifting off the throttle. The final piece of the drag racing puzzle are the wheels and tires. The regular Redeye's huge wheels and low profile tires are gone in favor of wheels that are just 18 inches in diameter. They're fitted with Nitto NT05R drag radials, the same make and model as on the Demon, at each corner for maximum traction at the strip. These are also the only indicators that you have a Super Stock. All the other badging is the same as the Hellcat Redeye, so only those in the know will recognize a Super Stock model. The final results of these drag-racing enhancements are impressive. Dodge claims a 0-60 time of 3.25 seconds, and a quarter-mile time of 10.5 seconds. Apparently it will finish three car lengths ahead of a regular Redeye at the drag strip. Top speed is less formidable at 168 mph, but that's a limit of the drag tires.

Ford Police Interceptors dominate Michigan State Police testing

Once again, Ford Motor Company builds the fastest police vehicles. The Blue Oval touted the news in an official release following Michigan State Police and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department testing. Ford did very well. Except for one acceleration metric – zero to 10 miles per hour – the Blue Oval's Taurus and Explorer-based cop cars were the quickest, with particular praise coming for the EcoBoost-powered models, which bested Chevrolet and Dodge's V8-powered variants. Dearborn's products also posted the fastest average times around MSP's vehicle dynamics course. But it wasn't all positive for Ford. The only four-cylinder in the contest, the 2.0-liter, EcoBoost Ford SSP Sedan, had both the lowest top speed, 120 mph, and the slowest acceleration figures. It was also the slowest in track testing. Ford's products also failed to match the braking and top speeds of its rivals from Detroit and Auburn Hills – the rear-drive Charger Pursuit posted the best braking stats of the entire test, while the V8-powered Chevrolet Caprice hit the highest top speed, at 155 mph. Ford did score a top speed award, among SUVs, but at 132 mph, the naturally aspirated Police Interceptor Utility had to share its award with the equally fast, rear-drive Chevrolet Tahoe. The LA County Sheriff's timing isn't publicly available, but according to Ford, the EcoBoost-powered police cars put on a similarly impressive show for cops on the West Coast. We've assembled a spreadsheet on Google Docs that offers an easy to browse comparison of the different stats assembled by the Michigan State Police, and divided the vehicles between standard V6-powered sedans, high-performance sedans (EcoBoost and V8 models), and SUVs. You can check it out here. Related Video: