Dodge Demon lends broad shoulders to 2018 SRT Hellcat Widebody
A wider body is only the beginning for this new Hellcat variant.
Let's face it -- you're probably never going to get your hands on the limited-edition Challenger SRT Demon. But you can get at least part of its essence on a standard Hellcat, starting later this year.
There's a new Hellcat in town -- the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody. As the name suggests, it borrows the wider body panels from the Demon. The fender flares add 3.5 inches of vehicle width, and fitting underneath those massive flares are new 20-by-11-inch "Devil's Rim" aluminum wheels. The tires are wider, too, measuring 305 millimeters.
I guess Pontiac's "Wider is Better" ad campaign was right after all.
That's not all, though. The Hellcat Widebody also picks up a new electric power steering system, a first for any Hellcat. Swapping through Street, Sport and Track modes increases steering weight to the customer's preference. Owners can mix-and-match adjustable settings with Custom mode, too.
These two changes result in a Hellcat with more grip than usual. Dodge claims this new Hellcat Widebody reduces quarter-mile elapsed times by 0.3 seconds (to 10.9 seconds), increases skid pad grip by 0.04g (to 0.97g) and reduces 0-60 times by 0.1 second (to 3.4 seconds). On a 1.7-mile road course, lap times dropped by 2 seconds, or approximately 13 car lengths.
Everything else you'd expect on a Hellcat is present and accounted for. It's got headlights with holes that shove air into the intake. There are new Hellcat badges on the outside, and standard Brembo brakes to bring everything to a stop. Inside, you get leather sport seats, a leather-wrapped flat-bottom steering wheel and a 8.4-inch infotainment system with standard navigation.
And yes, of course, the engine is as ridiculous as ever. The 6.2-liter supercharged V8 still puts out 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque, all of which is sent to the rear wheels by way of an eight-speed automatic or a six-speed manual.
The Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody starts at $71,495. Order books open in July, with deliveries taking place in the third quarter of 2017.
