2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat First Look

2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody First Look by Auto Critic Steve Hammes

Dodge’s 707-horsepower Hellcat models offer outrageous street-legal performance but with that much power routed to the rear wheels, it can be tricky to convert that inertia to forward momentum. New for 2018, Dodge offers a stickier solution: the Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody, delivering improved lap times, lateral grip, acceleration and braking.

The numbers speak for themselves: compared with the standard Challenger Hellcat, the Widebody cuts 2 seconds from its road course lap time, lops 3/10ths of a second from the ¼ mile now clocked at 10.9 seconds, knocks another 1/10^th of a second off of it 0-to-60mph time measured at 3.4 seconds and garners a .04 g improvement in grip on the skid pad.  Top speed is 195mph.

With a starting MSRP of $72,590 including a gas guzzler tax, the Widebody model features the same fender flares from the SRT Demon. These wider fenders add 3.5 inches to the Hellcat’s overall width, covering the new 20” “Devil’s Rim” aluminum wheels, which ride on new, wider 305/35ZR20 Pirelli P-Zero tires with a new tread pattern. A new electric power steering system with SRT Drive Modes adds new selectable steering tuning for the first time on a Hellcat model, with Street, Sport and Track settings.

The Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody is powered by the 6.2-liter supercharged HEMI V-8 with 707 horsepower and 650 lb.-ft. torque and can be paired to either the Tremec six-speed manual or TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission.