FCA Dodge and Alfa both receive awards from the Popular Mechanics 2014 awards ceremony.

• 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat named “Best Muscle Car”
• 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C wins the Car Award for Sport Cars

The new 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and Alfa Romeo 4C made lasting impressions on the automotive editors of Popular Mechanics, each being chosen as recipients of Popular Mechanics 2014 “Car Award.”

For this year’s Car Awards, the editors at Popular Mechanics got their hands on as many makes and models as they could and drove them all. The editors were looking for new cars that raise the game and standouts that are both excellent to drive and important this year. After lots of deliberation, they arrived at their favorites. 

The editors noted that “this year was particularly challenging because there are so many incredible cars and trucks.”

The new 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat was named “Best Muscle Car.” The 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is the fastest and most powerful muscle car ever with its 707 horsepower supercharged HEMI® V-8 engine and a National Hot Rod Association-certified ¼-mile elapsed time of 11.2 seconds at 125 miles per hour (mph) with stock Pirelli tires. 

Editors at Popular Mechanics said it owned the greatest model name of the past decade and called it “the wildest muscle car Detroit’s ever built.”

The all-new 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C received the “Sports Car” award for its groundbreaking and functional Italian design, ultra-lightweight design with a Formula 1 derived unilateral carbon fiber monocoque and responsive all-aluminum 1750 turbo engine mated to the paddle-shifting Alfa TCT (twin-clutch transmission).

Popular Mechanics editors noted “on a twisty road, you think you are driving something that costs three times as much” and called the Alfa Romeo 4C “mid-engine Italian driving nirvana.” 

The all-new 4C marks the return of “the great Alfa Romeos” and represents the purest formation of the brand’s DNA with its supercar-levels of performance and innovation, all while focusing on making the driver an integral part and completion of the machine.

Alfa Romeo breaks Nurburgring record with stunning 4C Supercar

• New Alfa Romeo 4C supercar completes a lap of the Nordschleife in just 8 minutes 04 seconds
• The lap time represents a new all-time record for all cars with engines producing less than 250hp
• Performance is in line with times set by sports cars with much higher prices and more powerful engines
• More than 250hp/tonne, 4.5 seconds from 0 to 62mph, 137hp/litre and 1.2g of deceleration: Alfa Romeo 4C guarantees even the most expert driver extraordinary performance and sensations
• The supercar was shod with special Pirelli Zero Trofeo tyres, the most sporty version in the Pirelli P Zero line, also type‐approved for road use on the German track

The new Alfa Romeo 4C has lapped the legendary Nordschleife at the historic Nürburgring circuit in Germany in a record-breaking time of 8 minutes 04 seconds, the fastest time of cars with engines under 250 HP and in line with times set by sports cars with much higher prices and more powerful engines. Driver, journalist and Nordschleife expert Horst von Saurma was behind the wheel when the record lap-time was set on September 12, 2013.

The test conducted at the ‘Green Hell’ in Germany is one of the countless tests that the Alfa Romeo supercar had to face in every part of the world, from the ‐35°in Sweden to the +40°of Abu Dhabi; from the Arizona (USA) deserts to the slopes of Mt. Etna in Sicily and from the Balocco test track in Italy track, where all Alfa Romeos have been developed, perfected and tested since 1962, to the one at the Nürburgring.

Used by car manufacturers the world over as a test and development track, the Nordschleife offers a unique configuration that alternates slow and fast curves, as well as straight stretches and undulations, to make it an outstanding testing ground for determining the soundness of a project.

In short, the 'Green Hell' proved to be the ideal place to put the performance features of the Alfa Romeo 4C to the test. This true, uncompromised driving machine delivers its best on the track, where speed, short braking distances and transverse acceleration are essential to get first‐rate lap times:  0 to 62mph in 4.5 seconds; 160mph of top speed; deceleration peaks in the range of 1.2 g; lateral acceleration peaks of over 1.1g and optimum weight distribution ‐40% over the front axle and 60% over the rear, not to mention a power-to-weight ratio of over 250hp per tonne, values worthy of true supercar.

In addition to its superb agility and phenomenal grip, credit must also be apportioned to the new 240hp 1750 Turbo Petrol engine, the latest‐generation 'ALFA TCT' dry twin clutch gearbox and the advanced Alfa D.N.A. selector with its newly-introduced “Race” mode. The new four-cylinder 1750 Turbo Petrol - with direct injection at 200 bar and an aluminium block - sets new records for torque and specific power for this size of engine, at over 200 Nm/litre (147.5 lb ft/litre) and 137hp/litre respectively, while maximum power of 240hp is reached at 6,000 rpm. The maximum torque of 350Nm (258 lb ft) ensures extraordinary elasticity and sportiness since it is maintained constant between 2,100 and 4,000 rpm with 80% of the torque already available from just 1,800 rpm.

Also contributing to the Alfa Romeo 4C's performance at the Nürburgring were the special Pirelli P Zero Trofeo tyres, the sportiest version in the Pirelli P Zero line. A record was set not only on the track, but also in the development of the tyres: It took less than one year of collaboration between Pirelli and Alfa Romeo engineers to develop of the best solution for guaranteeing grip and precision while driving of the Alfa Romeo 4C. These special 'AR' P Zero tyres, available in two sizes, 17" front and 18" rear or 18" front and 19" rear, ensure grip, performance, sportiness and precision. The 'AR Racing' tyres, offered only in 18" front and 19" rear sizes, have been developed not only with road driving in mind, but also for use on the track.