Man who’s always wanted a Hellcat ‘couldn’t resist the mystery’ of this cheap one that turned out to have a ridiculous past

The Dodge Hellcat is the pinnacle of the American dream for many, but one man who ‘couldn’t resist the mystery’ quickly found that his new muscle car had quite a rough past.

Hellcats are a beloved model but can be on the more expensive side if you want a brand-new one or a well-kept second-hander.

But this man from X found a decent bargain at auction, netting a Dodge Hellcat for $25,000.

The catch? Well, it was once stolen and is a high target for the police.

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Hellcat bought at auction comes with a wild backstory

Hellcat cars are becoming increasingly expensive, edging towards the six-figure mark for brand-new vehicles.

So, to land his dream car for a reasonable price, YouTuber LegitStreetCars bought a rather run-down Hellcat from auction to restore it for much cheaper than it would cost to buy one at market price.

But unsurprisingly, a cheap car comes with some caveats.

Documents provided to LegitStreetCars detailed that it was stolen in 2021 before being recovered in 2024.

It also appeared that the car had been doubling as a house too, with living quarter components found in the boot and in the seats.

Clothes, shoes, pillows, food, deodorant, and a toothbrush were found in the footwell and doors, indicating that the stolen car was also somebody’s home.

But aside from being a biohazard, and being ‘disgusting’ inside, this Hellcat cleaned up well.

Still, there was a lot to do before it could be given a new lease of life.

Starting under the hood.

‘Smellcat’ restoration project begins with police interception

While a deep scrub was high on the priority list, with the new owner dubbing it the ‘Smellcat’, the first job was to get the car mobile again by fixing its driveshaft and electrics.

With a jack lent from a subscriber found on site, the YouTuber wriggled underneath to fix the neutral gear issues and gave it a roaring jumpstart, as the Hellcat kicked into life.

The new owner managed to drive the car 15 minutes to a nearby garage, uncovering some issues with the suspension, where they soon found that the sway bar needed fixing.

But all in all, the repairs were minimal, and it was beginning to look like a steal of a deal.

Then it was time for operation rubber gloves and a cleanup.

Donating clothes to charity to begin the fumigation, the new owner blitzed the internals and gave the car a thorough spray.

They even called in the police and the canine unit to dive deeper into the car to check it for any remnants of drugs.

Thankfully it was clean.

After that was all done, the new owner wanted to take it on a 2,000-mile trip back to Chicago.

For a purchase of around $25,000 ($23,300 plus fees), was officially getting a second lease of life and will slip into LegitStreetCars’ ever-expanding collection.

As far as stolen vehicles, this renewed car getting a second shot at life is quite heartwarming – although the stolen Chevy Corvette that was reunited with its owners through the power of social media might take the warm and fuzzy crown.