The Ultimate Father's Day Gift: A Dodge Magnum Hellcat

Cars.com photo illustration by Paul Dolan; Cars.com photo by Evan Sears; manufacturer image

By David Thomas

June 15, 2015

There is no such thing as a Dodge Magnum Hellcat, and that’s a shame.

If the automotive world really cared about fathers there would be a 707-horsepower wagon in suburban driveways from Sea Cliff, N.Y., to Manhattan Beach, Calif. It would definitely be the ultimate Father’s Day gift.

That’s why, through the wonders of Photoshop, we have delivered the fantasy of a modern Dodge Magnum Hellcat to all the horsepower-hungry dads who need to haul kids and mulch.

We’ve tested and written about both of Dodge’s top-of-the-line muscle cars quite a bit recently. We know the perfectly family-friendly 2015 Dodge Charger Hellcat sedan can hit 11-second quarter-mile times and the 2015 Challenger Hellcat two-door can even fit three car seats across its backseat in a pinch.

As a father, that got me thinking about how much I miss the Dodge Magnum wagon.

Now, the Magnum had issues during its original run. Back then, Chrysler had different ownership and the interiors were nothing close to those we’re so impressed with in the brand’s current vehicles.

So why isn’t there a new version of the Magnum?

The old Magnum had 27.2 cubic feet of cargo volume behind the second row of seats and a max of 71.6 cubic feet. That’s not exactly huge considering a 2015 Subaru Outback has 35.5 cubic feet and a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT has 35.1 cubic feet behind their backseats … but the low-slung roof is really where you lose the cargo spec numbers, not width or depth.

And it was the sleek look of the roof that “made” the Magnum so cool.

Now, you can get a 470-hp Grand Cherokee SRT, but that aesthetic is completely different than the Magnum we’ve envisioned. Plus it is far from the Hellcat’s 707 horses. You can also get a 533-hp 2015 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG wagon, but it starts at $104,125 including destination.

So that leaves a perfectly reasonable spot in the market for a Magnum Hellcat. Perfectly reasonable, says this dad. And the ultimate Father’s Day gift.