Dodge Announces 2020 Charger Hellcat Widebody and Charger Scat Pack Widebody

They say there are no old, bold soldiers — but the Dodge Charger is making us wonder if perhaps there really is such a thing as an old, bold muscle car. The basic Charger silhouette has been unchanged for a long time, but Dodge keeps turning up the heat. First there was the SRT8 Charger, then the Hellcat, then the popular-priced R/T Scat Pack that combined hyper-aggressive aero styling with a 6.4-liter HEMI for maximum suburban intimidation.

Now Dodge has applied its “widebody” treatment to the Charger. The new look, which adds 3.5 inches of width courtesy of aggressive fender flares over massive wheels and tires, dipped the Challenger’s toes into the fountain of youth last year. Expect it to do the same for the Charger. Three new colors will debut for 2020, evocatively named “Frostbite”, “Hellraisin”, and “Sinamon Stick”. No word yet as to what they’ll actually look like.

There will be two variants available from launch for the 2020 model year. All SRT Hellcats will now be widebody-equipped. The change is claimed to decrease lap times on a 2.1-mile road course by 1.3 seconds, thanks to the following equipment: 20-inch by 11-inch wheels, wider Pirelli 305/35ZR20 tires, Brembo six-piston front calipers with two-piece front brake rotors, and unique suspension tuning with Bilstein three-mode adaptive damping. Top speed is down (!!!!) to 196 miles per hour.

For the 392-equipped, 485-horsepower Scat Pack, the Widebody is an optional package that decreases road course times by 1.3 seconds. The quarter-mile is quoted at 12.4 seconds. Both models will be available for order in the fall for early 2020 delivery. Our verdict? If you’re looking for a Hellcat, you’ll appreciate the upgrade — but Scat Pack owners should be absolutely certain to order the package, which will likely make for a road-course sweetheart that can also take five people home from the track.

There’s just one thing missing: the manual transmission that makes the Challenger Widebodies such tremendous fun. Is there a chance that Dodge will make the third pedal available before the end of production? It would be a bold move, for sure.