a few things...

first, several owners have already proven the GT500 magazine specs to be off. a few shops have tinkered with the GT500..tinkered, not changed...and have gotten them into the 11s. owners have gotten them into the 12s with practice. keep in mind that a stock "terminator" (03-04 cobra) with only a stated 390hp and is around 3800lbs, is capable of high 12s with some good traction, which is the hard part. the gt500 is around 3920lbs and has 500hp. the challenger has "425hp", which we know is under rated, but the detcha car weighs 4160lbs, so not only does the GT500 have more power, but it also weighs less.

second, what these tests dont show are the more important numbers, like 60 foot time, and trap speed? the srt-8 jeep ran the quarter at 13.5 with a trap speed of 101.6, i believe....the gt500 ran the quarter in the high 12s in the test that i read, and it did so with a trap speed of 112mph. so in the standing quarter mile, it is going 10mph faster. to give those of you who dont race alot, 112mph is good for a high 11 second run with a good hard launch and good traction...im running mid 12s with 104 trap speed...what does this mean? it means that while in magazine, the gt500 is only a 12.90 car, its only a good set of tires away from being a MUCH faster car.

third, superchargers dont have a "spool up time"...that is the plus side to running a supercharger over a turbocharger...as soon as you are into the throttle, the supercharger is doing its job...there is no "lag".

fourth, a solid rear axle is better for drag racing. independant suspension is better for the curves because it allows the tires to move with the road freely, but for a hard launch, the "stick axle" is better...this is why ford went with the solid axle in the gt500, and this is why most 03-04 cobra owners who are set on drag racing change to a solid axle, as it makes the car easier to launch.

in short, unless dodge finds a way to put more power into the challenger, or finds a way to pull out weight, the GT500 is going to be a hard "kill"...

and need i even get into modifying? to get a bunch more power out of the GT500, all you have to do is tune it, and change the pullies, thus upping the boost...that is another huge advantage with supercharged cars. i dont know any sure numbers, but i know that the blown lightnings and cobras reap big benefits from swapping pullies.