Dodge blesses its beastly 4-door, 707-hp family sedan with a new aggressive widebody to match. Arriving at dealerships early 2020, the 2020 Charger SRT Hellcat and Scat Pack with the new widebody still benefits from that insane supercharged 6.2L HEMI Hellcat V8 under the hood, capable of hitting 0-60 mph in just 3.6-seconds.
But now, with wider proportions and meaner looks, the modern Charger continues to defy how a conventional, mass-produced sedan should behave.
Sure, all that power and performance is great. But the Hellcat-flavoured Charger was missing the looks and attitude. A flared-out, in-your-face widebody was the missing link to what is arguably the meanest sedan on the market (and the most powerful and quickest volume-selling 4-door on plant Earth).
Dodge did recently put out this blacked-out, limited Octane Edition of the 2019 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, but it’s not same; not as aggressive.
Widebody for Charger SRT Hellcat
Standard on the Charger SRT Hellcat and optional on Charger Scat Pack, the new Widebody Package adds 3.5-inches of width to house the larger wheel assembly including wider Pirelli 305/35ZR20 rubber and Brembo six-piston front calipers with two-piece front brake rotors; the front and rear fascias finds integrated fender flares.
A flared-out, in-your-face widebody was the missing link to what is arguably the meanest sedan on the market.
End of the day, this widebody variant nails it down as quickest and best-handling production Charger SRT Hellcat ever, according to Dodge, running a significant 2.1 seconds faster than the vehicle it replaces on a 2.1-mile road course — that’s equivalent to 13 full car lengths, if you’re wondering.
Widebody for Charger Scat Pack
A little more reasonable with 485-hp, the 2020 Charger Scat Pack is Dodge’s more value-based muscle car, offering “the most muscle for the dollar” as they put it.
Running 0-60 mph in 4.3 seconds and a quarter-mile ET in 12.4 seconds, the Charger Scat Pack with widebody, like its Hellcat sibling, will be the quickest and best-handling production Charger Scat Pack to date, running 1.3 seconds faster than standard Charger Scat Pack on a 2.1-mile road course.
A solid reason to buy a sedan
Truth is, the old 4-door has lost major ground to today’s crossovers and smaller SUVs, despite the fact sedans continue to evolve in all aspects.
As Dodge puts it, “People say, ‘no one wants cars anymore.’ I would tell you that the 40,000 people who bought a Dodge Charger so far this year would probably agree, because to them, the Charger isn’t just a car. The Charger’s reach extends beyond body-style practicalities and it can’t be defined by average industry shifts.”
Clearly, the American automaker is going full steam ahead in this family segment — with V8s and aggressive styling, mind you. Considering the Dodge Charger has dominated the US full-size car segment in total vehicles sales for several years from 2014 to 2018, why would they stop now? They won’t, and we’re all better off for it.
Release date for the 2020 Charger SRT Hellcat and Charger Scat Pack with the new widebody package
Dodge//SRT dealerships across North America will begin receiving the new wider Chargers early next year; dealers will begin taking order this fall 2019. Pricing hasn’t been announced as of writing.
If you’re shopping for a ‘regular’ Charger, check these 13 things you should know.
