As we bid farewell to Dodge’s muscle car twins, the Challenger and Charger, most of the attention has gone to the Hellcat-powered variants and rightly so. The Hellcat engine is one of the most impressive engines ever put into a production car. But the standard Hemi engine is no slouch. Dodge delivered to us a Super Bee Special Edition, another of Dodge’s Last Call cars, with the standard Hemi engine under the hood and we were able to enjoy it one final time while comparing it to the Hellcat engine.
Our Super Bee showed up in the more attractive of two Super Bee colors: B5 Blue, another color resurrected from the classic muscle car palette of the early 1970’s. Super Bee badges adorned the flanks and grille of the car, while applique’s were set upon the hood and the rear fenders. The look was classic muscle car throwback and Dodge even threw in another fun muscle car attribute: hood pins. Parked in our lot, the Super Bee looked like it wanted to go play, bully some Prius’, and maybe goad some Mustang Shelby Cobras into running for pink slips.
Inside was black leather and alcantara – pretty monochromatic but tastefully done and comfortable. The controls were simple and straightforward to use. Seats were supportive and comfortable; well bolstered but not difficult to get into and out of. Adjustable for just about every body size and shape. The seats were heated and ventilated.
Under the hood was Dodge’s venerable 6.4L Hemi V8, which roars like a lion and chases down everything that dares threaten it. Huge amounts of horsepower and torque, as you can imagine. The power is transferred through an 8-speed automatic to the rear wheels, wrapped in drag racing tires that stuck like glue to the asphalt and turned 0-60 times of just over 4 seconds. While not as powerful or as fast as it’s Hellcat brethren, it seemed easier to make use of the power when driving. The paddle shifters worked with the engine rather well, while in the Hellcat cars it’s easy to get caught up in the acceleration and you forget to shift and just bang against the rev limiter. The Super Bee had a good balance of power.
The suspension, while not the adjustable type, was firm and composed but very forgiving. I’d have liked a little firmer setup but I was happy enough with it. Dodge found a happy medium that should keep nearly everyone happy. They call it “drag-oriented” suspension so I assume it’s not exactly meant for twisty roads but it did just fine on them.
The brakes were Brembo 4-piston calipers straddling large brake rotors. They stopped the car amazingly fast and never faded, which wasn’t unexpected since we didn’t push it on the track or anything while we had it. But they were there when we needed them and they did amazingly well at scrubbing off speed fast. Very confidence inspiring.
We got plenty of attention in the Super Bee. I think the fun B5 blue paint and Super Bee design cues got people’s attention.
EPA mileage was supposed to be 15 in the city and 24 on the highway for an average of 18mpg. I doubt we got that, as often as we were stomping on the gas peddle, but there’s more to cars that mileage. Can I get an “amen”?
Our Super Bee stickered at $63,985, which we didn’t think was bad given all the technology, performance, and creature comforts it came with. Base price was only $50k.
As inventory of Dodge muscle cars dwindles, Dodge has set up a special website, accessible from their homepage, to help you find the Dodge muscle car of your dreams. This is Last Call and they don’t want you to be denied.
We’ve tried a few different models of the Charger over the years and have loved every one of them. We’re sad to see it go, but we’ll enjoy plenty of fond memories of burnouts and high speed runs. Thank you, Dodge, for making some of the coolest cars on the planet and reigniting our love with Detroit muscle. Godspeed.
