2020 Dodge Charger Widebody first drive: Detroit hooligans

The 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody comes in both Hellcat and Scat Pack grades.

Soak in everything you can about these Dodge Chargers. They are glorious beasts. And V8-powered Detroit muscle sedans are rare today. In fact, the Mopars here have no real competition in their price class. Tire-frying, gas-burning hooligans will no doubt become even rarer going forward. However, Jim Wilder, vehicle development manager for SRT Engineering, definitely sees a demand for them in the foreseeable future.

“I think there’s still a customer out there that wants a visceral performance experience,” says Wilder. “A Tesla is quick, but it doesn’t give the driver the same fire-breathing feedback.”

Still, the V8 performance muscle sedan may not be around forever, so, let’s enjoy them while we can, shall we? It won’t be hard because, as we found out on the sweet roads near Napa, California, and the tight bends and dramatic elevation changes of Sonoma Raceway, Dodge’s new Widebody Chargers are incredibly fun to drive.

There’s no getting around it, the Charger is old. The current bodywork was first stamped new nine years ago. And the basic bones of these machines stretch all that way back to 2006, even longer if you consider the elderly rear-drive Mercedes-Benz parts used in their construction. But Dodge has done a miraculous job investing in these platforms, making them modern — and, most importantly, keeping them exciting.

That consistent improvement and refinement has really paid off. Dodge moved more than 80,000 Chargers a year for each of the last seven years. And Dodge/SRT senior manager of sales operations Jeff Strauss says the top Hellcat and Scat Pack trims make up a solid 30-35 percent of the mix depending on the month. Enough folks dig those potent V8 models that Dodge decided to double down on awesome for 2020.

Wilder says Charger fans have been drooling over the Widebody Challengers and finally said, “We want big tires too!” So, early next year, Charger’s most potent models will come with huge blistered fenders just like the Challenger. The Hellcat has them standard, but on the Scat Pack, it’s a $6,000 upcharge. The flares are 3.5-inches wider than those the standard Charger, are integrated into new front and rear fascias and help cover the massive 20-inch-by-11-inch wheels wrapped in 305/35ZR20 performance summer (or optional all-season) tires. That’s the same size that comes under the similarly flared fenders of the Challenger Widebody.

The 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody makes either 485 hp in the Scat Pack or 707 hp in the Hellcat.

The big shoes cover up big brakes too. Both the Scat Pack and Hellcat receive positively huge 15.4-inch Brembo brakes with six-piston calipers up front and 13.8-inch discs in the rear. Both the Scat Pack and the Hellcat have suspension upgrades for Widebody duty—but they aren’t the same.

The Scat Pack Widebody uses new front springs that are 27 percent firmer, but the rear ones remain the same as the narrow Scat Pack, as does the front 32-millimeter hollow antiroll bar. But the rear antiroll bar is upsized from 19 millimeters to 21.7 millimeters. The Scat Pack also comes standard with three-mode adaptive Bilstein dampers. The skidpad numbers, according to Dodge, went from .91 g to .98 g, and the added grip chopped 1.3 seconds off the time around their 2.1-mile test road course.

“Putting more sway bar in the back typically frees up the rear a little bit,” says Wilder. “So, it slides out quicker and becomes a little more neutral. On the track, the car really responded well. It’s really balanced nicely from front to rear.”

The Hellcat Chargers (all of which are Widebody models for 2020) have 38 percent stiffer front springs and an antiroll bar diameter that’s been increased from 32 millimeters to 34 millimeters. Like the Scat Pack, the rear springs remain the same, and the rear antiroll bar is increased to 21.7 millimeters. The changes result in .96 gs of skidpad grip and an even quicker 2.1-second reduction in lap times around that same road course.

Under the hood, the Hellcat cars are blessed with the familiar 707 hp SRT supercharged 6.2-liter V8 paired to a heavy-duty eight-speed automatic. The four-door missile generates a whopping 650 lb-ft of torque. That’s enough grunt to propel it to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and on to a quarter-mile time of 10.96 seconds. Dodge says it will hit a top speed just shy of 200 mph, which is both impressive and honestly kind of terrifying. If that’s not enough, there’s a special Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition (limited to 501 cars in three colors) with an extra 10 hp for a grand total of 717.

The Scat Pack Widebody is a bit tamer and like the narrow body runs a normally aspirated SRT 6.4-liter V8 churning out 485 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque. It is mated to a lighter-duty eight-speed automatic. Dodge says it will run to 60 mph in just 4.3 seconds and belt out a 12.4-second quarter-mile time.

The 2020 Dodge Charger Scat Pack Widebody is still plenty of power for the street.

The Execution

The lineup of Chargers to test drive looked like a candy-colored rainbow of muscle—each one brighter and more bodacious than the next. But we skipped the ones sprayed Go Mango, IndiGo Blue and TorRed for the stealthiest one of the bunch. Our Granite Steel (grey) Hellcat Widebody wearing Brass Monkey (dark gold) wheels was subtle and serious. Extroverted paint is cool but with so much power and torque on tap the less attention you attract the better.

The Hellcat can be completely docile. Leave the car in Auto mode, stay out of the throttle and it’s really no more ferocious than any other Charger. The exhaust is hushed too, if you keep the revs down. But when it’s time to play, the Hellcat is a blast to drive— even in the default mode.

“We’re not trying to be the fun police in Auto mode,” says Wilder. “We still want the car to spin the tires and yaw a little bit.”

Still, within five minutes we were in sport mode, a calibration where Wilder’s team shuts off traction control and allows some fishtailing. At the very first stoplight we firewalled the throttle. The rear tires erupted in smoke as the back of the car gently slid from side to side. Hellcats need absolutely zero brake torquing to blaze rubber—even with those giant and sticky 305-section width Widebody tires. The power is intoxicating and soon we had created a thick white cloud that probably annoyed a few commuters in the area. A little jerky? For sure. But digging deep into the Hellcat’s power reserves is addicting. Sorry not sorry.

On the tight and twisty roads on our test route in Sonoma County, the Hellcat was a blast. Yes, this was a big and heavy car even before the wider bodywork. Sport mode doesn’t shrink the car but it does wake up the powertrain and create a responsive experience. The dampers stiffen and the transmission immediately drops a gear or three. The throttle feels sharper too. The Hellcat’s ridiculous power and torque are now immediately available. And when you dive into a corner, that eight-speed downshifts quickly and puts the driver in the right gear for the exit. The grip is incredible and unexpected. But don’t feed in too much power or the rear end will step out. Don’t ask us how we know that.

Later we switched into a sweet F8 Green Scat Pack and yes, it was a much tamer ride. The explosive power just isn’t there. But on the street, 485 hp really is plenty and the ride quality seemed to be a bit smoother in the Scat Pack. The normally aspirated engine sounds amazing—perhaps better than the Hellcat, especially when it’s nearing redline. However, in the Scat Pack’s transmission sport setting is a little less aggressive. On an empty dead-end road in the boonies, we tried the line lock function. Just select “Line Lock” in the performance pages, press the brake pedal while holding the “Ok” button on the steering wheel. Then release the brake pedal, apply plenty of throttle to get the rear tires boiling and then let go of that “Ok” button to fire out of the hole. It’s easy. And that’s probably a good reason why Dodge says they built these machines to be comfortable enough to drive across country—while stopping at every drag strip along the way.

Chargers have a new electronic power steering system too. And while it doesn’t deliver the granular feedback of some performance cars, the weighting and precision is excellent. To our hands, the middleweight sport calibration was the best on the street.

“I’ve had some engineers say, ‘oh my gosh track mode steering is so heavy, ‘“says Wilder. “Yes, when you’re driving to Target it’s way too heavy. But when you’re on a track and heading into a corner at 100 mph—it feels very appropriate.”

Indeed, on the track at Sonoma Raceway, track mode felt great. Still to extract all the performance from the Hellcat, it demands a skillset that’s one notch above that of the Scat Pack. It’s just so fast on the straights it requires a much earlier braking point. The stability control setting allows both Widebody Chargers slide a bit. But to help customers maintain control of their machines, Wilder’s team doesn’t completely eliminate traction control in track mode.

“Some people tend to use the gas pedal as a light switch and with these cars you have to be progressive,” he says. “So, we put a little traction control back in as a safeguard.”

A Scat Pack is practically relaxing by comparison. But it’s also a really fun and really rewarding because the limits are more accessible and easier to manage. It’s still one very quick car. And the big 6.4-liter V8 sounds amazing echoing off the walls of the track.

The Takeaway

Here’s the thing, it’s impossible to find a sedan that looks as tough and performs as well as these Widebody Chargers for the same money. To get even close to the same horsepower level, you’d need to head into the six-figure range and shop for something like a Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, BMW M5 or Audi RS7. But all three of these cars are all-wheel drive. The Bimmer does have a rear drive mode—and so it’s the only one to potentially allow smoky burnouts. Speaking of roasting those tires, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a performance Charger above the Hellcat. Now that the Widebody has been engineered into the program could something like a 797 hp Redeye be far behind? Let’s hope so.

ON SALE: Early 2020

BASE PRICE: $47,490 (Scat Pack) $71,140 (Hellcat)

AS-TESTED PRICE: $61,445 (Scat Pack), $79,410 (Hellcat)

DRIVETRAIN: 6.4-liter V8/6.2-liter supercharged V8, RWD, eight-speed A/T

OUTPUT: 485 hp @ 6,100 rpm, 475 lb-ft of torque @ 4,100 rpm/707 hp @ 6,100 rpm (717 hp Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition), 650 lb-ft. of torque @ 6,100 rpm

CURB WEIGHT: 4,385 lbs (Scat Pack), 4,586 lbs. (SRT Hellcat)

PROS: Completely badass, smokey burnouts for days, will dust machines costing double

CONS: Dated interior, definitely not a sleeper, all of the sudden narrow-body Chargers look wimpy

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