{"id":24272,"date":"2019-10-12T16:49:44","date_gmt":"2019-10-12T20:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=24272"},"modified":"2019-10-12T16:49:44","modified_gmt":"2019-10-12T20:49:44","slug":"payne-dodge-charger-widebody-turns-up-wick-on-family-sedan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/payne-dodge-charger-widebody-turns-up-wick-on-family-sedan","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Dodge Charger Widebody turns up wick on family sedan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/10\/07\/PDTN\/4b5e6ff5-2cd1-4706-bb2e-8e3e478ead3d-charger_hellcat-gray-pit.JPG?crop=4032,2268,x0,y0&amp;width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Taking the family sedan on track. At Sonoma Raceway in California, the 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody Hellcat feels right at home.\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><p>Taking the family sedan on track. At Sonoma Raceway in California, the 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody Hellcat feels right at home.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">Rounding Sonoma Raceway\u2019s high-speed\u00a0downhill Turn 6, the 2020 Dodge Charger Hellcat Widebody compresses underneath me on stiffened performance springs and shocks. The 4,500-pound beast\u2019s big rear-end twitches as I slowly feed 707 horses through 11-inch-wide Michelin tires.\u00a0I open the throttle wide onto the back straight and the Hellcat explodes like a Saturn rocket pointed at the moon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">I love Dodge family sedans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Since its debut at the 2015 Woodward Dream Cruise, the Charger Hellcat has redefined the full-size car segment. The first four-door to produce over 700 horsepower, the Charger became an instant icon alongside its two-door muscle-car brother Challenger.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">More importantly, it did its job as a brand halo,\u00a0injecting the bloodline with performance steroids that have benefited all Chargers. Not to mention their sales.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">While the rest of the big sedan class \u2014 Chevy Impala, Ford Taurus, Toyota Avalon \u2014 have been buried under an\u00a0SUV wave, Charger has survived with Captain Hellcat at the helm despite the fact that it\u00a0sits on one of the oldest hulls in the business.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Dodge isn\u2019t sitting on its laurels.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">For 2020 it\u2019s introducing a Charger Widebody variant for top Hellcat and Scat Pack trims. Widebody as in bodybuilding. Similar muscles are available on its brother Challenger.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cI just want to make bad-ass looking cars,\u201d says Dodge designer Mark Trostle. He\u2019s in the right place.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-SKjlEqzgeWI\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\u00a0Looking like pecs rippling from Charger\u2019s torso, the Widebody\u2019s enlarged fenders allow a wider track for the performance sedan. Wider track as in 1.5 more inches of rubber, a significant improvement on a big sedan like this \u2014 and a clever way to make the Charger\u2019s chassis more nimble in its twilight years. (Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley says a new platform for Charger is coming next decade.)<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">More than just flesh and rubber are upgraded for 2020. To deal with the added tire grip, chief engineer Jim Wilder and his team of bodybuilders have imbued both the Hellcat and Scat Pack with significant upgrades for shocks, springs\u00a0and sway-bars. All this muscle doesn\u2019t come cheap, and Widebody versions add abou$5,000 to the bottom line.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">That means a standard Charger Hellcat commands a price just under $70,000, with my fully loaded Sonoma warrior (brooding, black-painted hood and all) clocking in at a nose-bleed $80,555. That tops a price spread not unlike the luxury cars whose specs Charger competes with.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-SKjlEqyptkk\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/10\/07\/PDTN\/ecfb5815-4bd9-4db7-a494-7b8acbfe5ee0-charger_hellcat-engine.JPG?crop=4032,2268,x0,y0&amp;width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Under the hood, the 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody Hellcat supercharges a 6.2-liter V-8 to an insane 707 horses.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/10\/07\/PDTN\/ecfb5815-4bd9-4db7-a494-7b8acbfe5ee0-charger_hellcat-engine.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/10\/07\/PDTN\/ecfb5815-4bd9-4db7-a494-7b8acbfe5ee0-charger_hellcat-engine.JPG?width=500&amp;height=281\" \/>Under the hood, the 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody Hellcat supercharges a 6.2-liter V-8 to an insane 707 horses.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Charger family can be had from the entry-level<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>$30,965<b><\/b>V-6, all the way to Hellcat. Compare that to a BMW M5 which starts at $50,000 and stretches to $135,000.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">I don\u2019t imagine BMW and Charger customers will ever attend the same dinner parties, but if they do, Team Charger doesn\u2019t need to be shy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">For $50,000\u00a0less, the Charger boasts 107 more ponies than the M5 and crosses the quarter-mile in the same 10.9 seconds. Yeah, M5 will spring to 60 mph nearly a second quicker (2.8 vs. 3.6),\u00a0but credit that to the BMW&#8217;s\u00a0all-wheel drive. The real mindblower here is Charger Hellcat\u2019s near identical (0.96 vs. the M5\u2019s 0.98) g-load cornering capability,\u00a0despite weighing 300 pounds more than the state-of-the-art German.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">I experienced this capability on twisty, country roads where the Saturn rocket feels strapped to the tarmac by its stiff suspension and giant Brembo brakes (yeah, M5 gets Brembos, too).<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-SKjlEqze3K0\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/10\/07\/PDTN\/73c8b4ca-24b2-4225-9c9f-799be5582b3b-charger_hellcat-int.JPG?crop=3870,2268,x0,y0&amp;width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The interior of the 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody Hellcat features stitched leather and some of the finest infotainment solutions in autodom.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/10\/07\/PDTN\/73c8b4ca-24b2-4225-9c9f-799be5582b3b-charger_hellcat-int.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/10\/07\/PDTN\/73c8b4ca-24b2-4225-9c9f-799be5582b3b-charger_hellcat-int.JPG?width=500&amp;height=281\" \/>The interior of the 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody Hellcat features stitched leather and some of the finest infotainment solutions in autodom.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Best Charger ever? Not so fast. Hellcat, meet sibling Scat Pack.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Adopting the Hellcat\u2019s same bodybuilding secrets \u2014 right down to those Brembos \u2014 the Widebody Scat Pack benefits from a lighter, 6.4-liter\u00a0normally aspirated V-8 up front. Without Hellcat\u2019s extra plumbing to feed more air to its supercharged, 6.2-liter eight-cylinder, the Scat Pack\u2019s lighter weight translates to an M5-matching 0.98 cornering Gs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">I\u2019m not making this up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The result is a $45,000 Scat Pack Widebody (my loaded tester hit an even $60,000) that is a serious $20,000\u00a0cheaper than Hellcat (ahem, $70,000\u00a0south of the M5) that is just as sinister-looking in the rear-view mirror.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Sure, the Hellcat\u2019s otherworldly supercharger whine will send chills up your spine, but at full bellow the\u00a0Scat Pack\u2019s V-8 roar will make grown men\u2019s knees buckle. On-track at Sonoma, the Hellcat outpaced the Scat Pack thanks to the former\u2019s prodigious torque. But with its rippled bod, the Scat Pack is as emotionally satisfying.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">But wait, there\u2019s more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Due to packaging constraints, the Hellcat does not benefit from the latest safety-assist systems \u2014 meaning the $45,000\u00a0Scat Pack Widebody gets adaptive cruise-control. The Hellcat does not. That\u2019s a huge plus for owners (most of us) who intend to use sedans for daily, family chores.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Is $45,000\u00a0still too rich for your stomach? Performance DNA trickles down.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-SKjlEqzat6M\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/10\/07\/PDTN\/1fdc2b72-0ad8-43df-a0ef-9c730cf8ea5b-charger_instrum.JPG?crop=4032,2268,x0,y0&amp;width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Red eyes. The 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody Hellcat's red instruments telegraphs lots of performance. The 13.7 mpg means its comes at a fuel cost.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/10\/07\/PDTN\/1fdc2b72-0ad8-43df-a0ef-9c730cf8ea5b-charger_instrum.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/10\/07\/PDTN\/1fdc2b72-0ad8-43df-a0ef-9c730cf8ea5b-charger_instrum.JPG?width=500&amp;height=281\" \/>Red eyes. The 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody Hellcat&#8217;s red instruments telegraphs lots of performance. The 13.7 mpg means its comes at a fuel cost.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">For just $35,000, buyers can opt for the plenty-powerful, 300-horse Charger GT that comes equipped with the same rear-wheel drive handling (exclusive to class), hood scoop, Skittles color palette, brooding cowl &#8230; even the 20-inch tires found on its richer brothers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Entranced by the V-8\u2019s siren call? You can option up to the R\/T and still leave the dealership for less than $40,000.\u00a0The kids will love you when you come pick them up at school.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Speaking of which, all Chargers come with the secret sauce that makes them unique in muscledom: room.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Front-wheel drive competitors like the Avalon and Impala offer room without sex appeal. Rear-wheel drive coupes like the Camaro and Mustang offer sex appeal without the legroom (even the roomy Challenger requires hurdling the front seat to get in back).<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-SKjlEqyygDE\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/10\/07\/PDTN\/c63c4732-31bb-4d70-8216-f95a37a2dcdb-charger_backseat.JPG?crop=4032,2268,x0,y0&amp;width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody may be a muscle car \u2014 but it has lots of rear seat rooms for the kiddies.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/10\/07\/PDTN\/c63c4732-31bb-4d70-8216-f95a37a2dcdb-charger_backseat.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/10\/07\/PDTN\/c63c4732-31bb-4d70-8216-f95a37a2dcdb-charger_backseat.JPG?width=500&amp;height=281\" \/>The 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody may be a muscle car \u2014 but it has lots of rear seat rooms for the kiddies.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Charger sedan stretches Challenger\u2019s wheelbase by 4 inches and puts it all to work in the back seat. My 6-foot-5 basketballer\u2019s frame folded easily into back, letting me take\u00a0thrill rides around Sonoma with French pro driver Nico Rondet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">You can enjoy this roominess with the best interior in American muscle, period. A simple, sculpted dash cups a standard\u00a08.4-inch screen and intuitive UConnect infotainment system. Apple CarPlay is\u00a0standard for getting you where you want to go.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Hellcat adds red-tinted gauges that\u00a0appropriately\u00a0mimic the bloodshot eyes of some kind of underworld creature.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-SKjlEqyDb-g\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/10\/07\/PDTN\/f518a513-05f0-4653-8020-aaa4e76dd3b3-charger_hellcat-blue-fr.JPG?crop=3937,2268,x95,y0&amp;width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody Hellcat sports the &quot;mailbox&quot; front grille \u2014 sharp design meets more air for the engine.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/10\/07\/PDTN\/f518a513-05f0-4653-8020-aaa4e76dd3b3-charger_hellcat-blue-fr.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/10\/07\/PDTN\/f518a513-05f0-4653-8020-aaa4e76dd3b3-charger_hellcat-blue-fr.JPG?width=500&amp;height=281\" \/>The 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody Hellcat sports the &#8220;mailbox&#8221; front grille \u2014 sharp design meets more air for the engine.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Someday Dodge will build Charger on a new, lighter platform. But for now, Detroit\u2019s favorite son has managed to maintain Dodge swagger while dusting it with a personality that only luxury German performance makes (well, and Fiat Chrysler brother Jeep) can match.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Now, if you\u2019ll excuse me, I gotta take the family sedan back out on the track.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody and Scat Pack Widebody<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear-wheel drive, five-passenger sedan<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Price: Base price Hellcat $71,140, including $1,495 destination charge ($80,555 as tested). Base price Scat Pack $47,490, including $1,495 destination charge ($61,445 as tested)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Powerplant: 6.2-liter, supercharged V-8; 6.4-liter V-8<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Power: 707\u00a0horsepower, 650\u00a0pound-feet of torque (6.2-liter); 485 horsepower, 475 pound-feet of torque (5.7-liter)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Transmission: 8-speed automatic<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Performance: 0-60 mph, Hellcat 3.6 seconds, Scat Pack 4.3 (mfr.); top speed, 196 mph (Hellcat Widebody)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Weight: Hellcat, 4,596 pounds; Scat Pack, 4,385 pounds<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Fuel economy: EPA mpg, 13 city\/22 highway\/16 combined (Hellcat, est.); EPA mpg, 15 city\/24 highway\/18 combined (Scat Pack, est.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Report card<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Highs: BMW performance, Dodge price; Scat Pack stick<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Lows: Hellcat gets pricey; handle with care, 707 is a lotta ponies<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Overall: 4\u00a0stars<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Taking the family sedan on track. At Sonoma Raceway in California, the 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody Hellcat feels right at home.\u00a0(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News) Rounding Sonoma Raceway\u2019s high-speed\u00a0downhill Turn 6, the 2020 Dodge Charger Hellcat Widebody compresses underneath me on stiffened performance springs and shocks. The 4,500-pound beast\u2019s big rear-end twitches as I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24272"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24272\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}