With money a finite resource for most shoppers, buying a new car sometimes comes down to weighing dollars against sheetmetal. Do you spend your paycheck on a sensible crossover, a fuel-efficient sedan, or a racy hot hatchback?

Or do you simply buy the most horsepower you can afford?

If so, direct your attention to the 2015 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Shaker, which is Dodge’s code for more horsepower with a smaller monthly payment. It’s the affordable way to get Dodge’s 6.4-liter (392-cubic-inch) Hemi V-8 under the hood of your Challenger, saving you a few thousand bucks compared to the $46,690 SRT 392 model.

Opting for the Scat Pack Shaker means you’ll do without the SRT model’s adaptive suspension dampers, leather-and-Alcantara seats, and HID headlights, plus you’ll get four-piston Brembo front brakes versus six-piston stoppers on the SRT 392. But you’ll be glad you saved some cash when it’s time to buy new rear tires.

Open up the big Hemi from a stop just once, and you’ll fall in love. While the Ford Mustang’s DOHC V-8 needs a few revs to wake up and the fifth-gen Chevrolet Camaro’s pushrod V-8 starts to run out of steam before redline, Dodge’s 6.4-liter monster dishes out power all the time. It’ll happily sublimate the 9.6-inch-wide Goodyears if you sidestep the clutch, and it can rocket forward if you’re more judicious with your launch. It takes a strong tug to pull the Tremec six-speed manual into second gear, but it’s worth it as the Challenger Scat Pack Shaker keeps pulling ferociously. There’s no doubting Dodge’s claim that, had we enough asphalt, we could hit 179 mph.

The 2015 Dodge Challenger is less happy when you find curves. The aggressive Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar footwear grips and grips as g-forces build, but with plenty of rock ’n’ roll from the suspension, you’ll find yourself gripping the steering wheel ever harder to stop from sliding around on the wide, flat seats. The car’s size and heft likewise discourage us from clipping apexes or darting through traffic.

Above all, though, the Challenger Scat Pack Shaker wins our hearts when we find an open stretch of road and let ’er rip. The entire point of buying this car is to worship at the temple of all that is horsepower. Hey, if you have 485 hp, you might as well use it. The 2015 Dodge Challenger lacks the poise and sophistication of the Chevy Camaro and Ford Mustang, but if you value sheer horsepower above all else, this is the car to get.

2015 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Shaker Specifications

(source: automobilemag.com)