A deputy clocked a Dodge Durango at 172 mph on a public road during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Not 172 kilometres per hour. Not a faulty reading. One hundred and seventy two miles per hour. In a vehicle that seats seven, has cup holders designed for school run coffee, and enough cargo space for a full grocery shop.
The car in the photograph is believed to be a Durango SRT Hellcat, which is the only explanation that makes the number physically possible. A standard Durango with the 3.6 litre V6 is electronically limited to around 120 mph. The V8 trims sit well below 172. The Hellcat is different. Dodge fits the same supercharged 6.2 litre V8 used in the Charger and Challenger into the Durango's engine bay, producing 710 horsepower and 645 lb ft of torque. Factory rated top speed: 180 mph. The deputy clocked this one at 172. The driver was 8 mph from officially running out of car.
The post generated the inevitable internet argument. One side: no way a Durango hits 172. Other side: it literally says on the window sticker that it can do 180. The correct answer is that any Durango SRT Hellcat that has not been modified or limited is mechanically capable of approaching 180 mph on a long enough stretch of road, and someone in Georgia apparently found a stretch of road long enough.
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At 172 mph, a vehicle covers approximately 252 feet every second. A standard American football field is 300 feet long. The Sheriff's Office noted that at these speeds, the vehicle covered that distance in well under a second. The actual figure is around 1.2 seconds. That is the time available to the driver to respond to anything — a car changing lanes, a vehicle merging, debris in the road — before the distance becomes irrelevant.
The Durango SRT Hellcat is not a niche product. It starts at $79,995, seats seven, tows up to 8,700 pounds and reaches 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. Dodge has sold it continuously since 2021, threatening to kill it off and then signing it up for another year, almost every year since. It holds the title of most powerful production SUV running a petrol engine. It is bought by people who want to use it as a family car and occasionally remember what is under the bonnet. It is not bought by people who plan to do 172 mph on a Georgia public road during holiday weekend traffic. And yet.
The driver was stopped. Charges have not been publicly specified. The comments section continues to relitigate whether the reading was accurate.
The reading was accurate.
Sources
- Carscoops — The Costco Hauler That Hit 172 MPH On A Georgia Public Road
- Yahoo Autos — 'That's Not a Typo': Deputies Clock Dodge Durango at 172 MPH
- Douglas County Sheriff's Office — Facebook post (via Carscoops and Yahoo Autos)
- MoparInsiders — 2026 Dodge Durango Build & Price Configurator (specifications and pricing confirmed)