Dodge teases Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody, America’s ultimate muscle sedan
FCA’s Dodge brand has released a very short video titled “Something Big is Coming…,” that teases a new version of the Dodge Charger SRT, increasing speculation that the automaker is readying a widebody performance version of the Charger sedan to go with the various widebody editions of the Challenger two-door that are already on sale. Earlier this year, Dodge displayed a camouflaged widebody Charger at the SpringFest Mopar Festival.
The car is literally under wraps for most of the video until just before the screen goes black with the caption “Coming soon,” followed by the twin-stripe SRT logo, but we can get a few hints from what we actually can see of the car. It appears to be the same B5 Blue widebody Charger that was spied while shooting a commercial a couple of months ago. It wears a large SRT badge in the middle of the Charger’s new grille, which was revealed last year, along with two new and very large lower air intakes, presumably to improve brake cooling and provide more air for what is apparently a supercharger under the hood.
As with the widebodied Challengers, the broader fenders and wider wheel arches allow for wider wheels and tires, a wider track, and a revised suspension for better track performance. The larger wheels permit the fitting of bigger brakes as well.
There is no indication in the video as to what will power the car, but the widebody Challengers are available with a variety of powerplants up to the Hellcat Redeye Challenger, which puts out 797 horsepower (the 808-hp Challenger SRT Demon ended production in 2018). It’s likely that the standard engine in the Charger Hellcat Widebody will be the supercharged 717-hp 6.2-liter version of the Hemi V-8 that is in the Hellcat Challenger Widebody.
Either way, even with “only” 717 hp, the fattened Charger will likely be the most powerful street-legal sedan ever offered by an American car company.