How the Hellcat won with music, marketing and engineering

In 2015, Dodge made a move to differentiate itself from mainstream car brands.

Through equally clever marketing and engineering, the Hellcat engine became a popular "halo" product, building out Dodge's American muscle reputation.

While marketing focused on gearheads and hard rock music, the engine has become popular in the rap scene, too.

When Jay Motley rolled up, a woman in the crowd just had to ask: “What kind of car is that?”

Motley, the owner of the mysterious vehicle, had just crawled the rose gold and white machine up the curb cut, through the gravel, and parked it on the scene of a music-video-in-progress earlier this summer on the west side of Detroit. A crowd of young, happy creatives parted and watched as he rolled through.

Motley calls the car his “Pretty Penny.” The custo