ANYONE know why RR opted for a PowerSlide instead of the std 8 speed ?
I doubt that RR knows the difference.
Since this is a race type build with good power and light weight the glide makes sense. Plus there are tons of parts and vendors for them in the aftermarket, specifically converters. My guess is that whoever was in charge of the build called one of the sponsors of the show and told them what they were building and they needed a transmission and a week later it all showed up on a pallet.
I don't have any experience with the Hellcat engine in a drag car but my guess is that the torque curve is big enough that it would work well with a two speed transmission for drag racing. It would also probably work okay with a three speed transmission. I doubt many folks are going to want to go racing with a factory 8 speed. From what I can see in the pictures, whoever picked the parts for the car did an okay job. For $20K the Hellcat engine is probably a bit more expensive than a more typical 505 inch big block that makes roughly the same power but it isn't out of sight. A 700 hp big block will cost around $15K to build if you start from scratch so it isn't crazy to use the Hellcat engine.
If a person wanted to duplicate this car they could probably pick up a rolling chassis for around $10K and put the $20K engine in it and be ready to go down the track for $35K total after replacing some parts and fixing the usual things that are wrong with a used race car.
