On the same day that Ford announced the expansion of their cute little GoBike sharing program as part of their new “mobility company” mission, Dodge unveiled their newest bad ass Challenger Hellcat Widebody.
Taking the styling cues and wider chassis of the 840 horsepower SRT Dodge Demon that was launched earlier this year, the new SRT Challenger Hellcat Widebody brings all the benefits of the extra rubber and grip available to the original Challenger Hellcat.
These start with what the Hellcat has needed all along, grip. Under the wider flared fenders are super wide 20 x 11-inch split five spoke aluminum wheels with 305/35ZR20 Pirelli P-Zero performance tires to actually give the 6.2 liter Hellcat engine’s 707 horsepower some level of resistance.
Brakes come by way of Brembo at 15.4-inch rotors up front as seen through the Devil’s Rim 20-inch wheels and handling gets a few tweaks including a new electric power steering rack. While this isn’t always good news to driving purists, the mod does bring about driver selectable modes that are tied into the native SRT drive modes and they do claim better steering feel. We’ll see when we get to drive it.
Does all this make it quicker? Yes. Dodge says it achieves a 2 second improvement in lap time on the 1.7 mile test course with some 13 car lengths difference on a lap over the standard Challenger Hellcat. Additionally it can now hit .97 G on the skidpad instead of just .93 and acceleration times are improved too, though just fractionally.
Acceleration from 0-60 is now 3.4 seconds instead of 3.5. The quarter mile comes up in 10.9 seconds instead of 11.2. It’s really about turning a corner more than straight light performance. If you want the straight line, Dodge can build you a Demon.
Aside the extra grip you also of course get all the styling mods that came with the SRT Demon. These include the fender flares that add 3.5-inches of overall width. You get the Hellcat power-bulge hood with dual heat extractors, air-catcher headlamps and the super huge front splitter from the Demon.
The interior will look familiar if you’ve driven the Challenger Hellcat before. You get a 200-mph speedometer seen through the fat SRT performance leather-wrapped flat-bottom, heated steering wheel. Laguna leather SRT performance seats are standard and on the dash you will find a new Hellcat badge.
The aforementioned electric steering can be adjusted through the SRT Performance Pages accessible via the Uconnect 8.4-inch touchscreen display. For 2018 they claim it’s improved with faster graphics start up time and has enhanced processing power with sharper graphics.
To be available with an amazing selection 15 exterior colors, orders open for the 2018 Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody in July with production to begin later this summer. Base pricing starts at $71,495 including $1,700 gas guzzler tax but not including the dealer profit addendum most will likely add.
We’ll bring you a more detailed review as soon as we can get behind the wheel of one.
