It’s been almost a year since the first prototypes were spied out in the wild, and finally, Dodge is edging closer to the grand reveal of the Charger Widebody. The following teaser suggests that “something big is coming,” but it’s not as big as a redesign from the ground up.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has been milking the cash cow for a long time with the Charger, which has been reintroduced in 2005 for the 2006 model year on the LX vehicle architecture. An evolution of the platform – the LD – premiered in 2011 but with little changes worth highlighting. A similar approach was taken with the Dodge Challenger muscle car and Chrysler 300 luxury sedan, two models that should’ve been replaced altogether years ago.
Ever since the Hellcat V8 entered the scene, small increments in performance is how the Charger and Challenger were kept on life support. The Widebody option is expected to welcome the Redeye specification into the Charger’s lineup, joining the 6.4-liter HEMI V8 and 6.2-liter Hellcat V8.
The 2020 model year could also translate into a bump from 707 to 717 horsepower for the Charger Hellcat, mirroring the output of the Challenger Hellcat for the 2019 model year. It is the Redeye, however, that takes the crown thanks to 797 horsepower and 707 pound-feet of torque, the sort of suck-squeeze-bang-blow that requires 11-inch-wide wheels wrapped in 305/35 tires instead of the standard Hellcat’s 9.5-inch-wide wheels and 275/40 tires.
“Are you ready?” in the description of the teaser is an indicator the Charger Widebody will premiere soon, probably towards the end of Jun 2019 at the Chelsea Proving Grounds in Michigan. This event is where Dodge invites select members of the automotive media to drive the next model year’s lineup, meaning that the Charger Widebody should be featured.
As for pricing, the Widebody option in the case of the Challenger retails at $6,000 on top of the starting price of the R/T Scat Pack. More to the point, $45,995 compared to $39,995 excluding destination charge. The Charger in R/T Scat Pack flavor is $39,995 while the SRT Hellcat levels up to $67,245 excluding delivery and gas-guzzler tax.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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