Dodge’s Demonic 2019 Challenger lineup

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(July 15, 2018) You may be getting tired of those Dodge commercials where Challengers and Chargers and even Durango SRTs do monstrous, smoky drifts through empty city streets. “Yes, Dodge is FCA’s performance brand. We get it,” you might think to yourself as the commercial runs.


Just to make certain that you do, indeed, get it, Dodge is expanding the Challenger lineup, adding even more Hellcats and Widebodies, and power for the supercharged SRT Hellcats starts at 717 horsepower. It’s like the whole brand has been possessed by a Demon.

The top Challenger SRT Hellcat is the Redeye, powered by a 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V8 mated to an eight-speed TorqueFlite automatic. The 2.4-liter supercharger has been replaced by one displacing 2.7 liters, which increases boost from 11.6 lb./in.2 to 14.4 lb./in.2 and works with a rev limit raised from 6,200 to 6,500 rpm.

Of course, this has required the use of stronger pistons and connecting rods, a revised valvetrain, two dual-stage fuel pumps, a high-strength steel driveshaft and 41-spline halfshafts, and a larger induction airbox that draws air from the dual-snorkel hood, driver-side headlamp and an inlet near the front wheel liner. It’s enough, Dodge says, to produce 797 horsepower and 707 lb.-ft. of torque and reliably get it to the pavement. You can even order an optional 3.09:1 final drive ratio with more off-the-line pull than the standard 2.62:1 unit.



Top speed for the Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye is 203 mph, a number that — oddly — doesn’t change when the 3.5-in. wider  Widebody option is ordered. It does, however, make the Widebody 0.3 seconds quicker in the quarter mile (thanks to stickier tires), lowering the standard body’s 11.1-second quarter to 10.8 seconds with the same 131 mph trap speed. But — whisper it — the Redeye is only 0.1 seconds quicker in the quarter-mile than the regular Hellcat, standard width or Widebody, and has a marginally higher top and trap speed.
 
The standard wheel on Hellcat Challengers is a 20 x 9.5-in. SRT Low Gloss Black performance design. Or you can pay a little more for split five-spoke wheels with Brass Monkey finish. Widebodies get the split five-spoke “Devil’s Rim” design in 20 x 11-in. size with sticky 305/35 ZR-20 Pirelli P-Zero tires.
 
The SRT Hellcat Redeye draws 18% more air at 1,134 ft.3/minute, than the 2018 Hellcat. In addition, intake charge temperature has dropped 4.0° F thanks to the revised hood air inlet. This works alongside the Redeye’s standard Power Chiller, which diverts refrigerant from the cabin air conditioner to a circuit that includes a chiller unit. Coolant for the charge air cooler is sent from that unit to the chiller, and out to the supercharger’s heat exchangers. An After-Run Chiller — standard across the Hellcat lineup — keeps the engine cooling fan and coolant pump running in order to draw heat away from the supercharger and charge air cooler.

Challenger SRT Hellcats come standard with a Tremec six-speed manual gearbox, with the option of an eight-speed TorqueFlite 8HP90 automatic. This transmission gets an upgraded torque converter capable of handling 18% more torque than the standard Hellcat automatic, and is the only transmission offered on the Redeye.

Lower down the Challenger food chain sit the R/T Scat Pack, R/T and GT RWD models. The Scat Pack’s Hemi is naturally aspirated, and produces an almost prosaic 485 horsepower and 475 lb.-ft. of torque. Priced below $40,000, the R/T Scat Pack gets the aluminum power bulge hood from the 2018 Hellcat, which includes an air intake flanked by two air extractors designed to reduce both engine compartment heat and air turbulence. Air Catcher headlamps feed additional air into the engine bay.

The R/T Scat Pack can be ordered in Widebody form, which comes with the same 305/35 ZR-20 Pirelli P-Zero tires mounted on 20 x 11-in. Devil’s Rim wheels. That combination drops the car’s quarter-mile time by 0.2 seconds, and reportedly cuts nearly two seconds from its road course lap time.

Standard equipment for the 2019 R/T Scat Pack includes:

    Launch Control.
    Launch Assist.
    Line Lock.
    SRT Drive Modes.
    SRT Performance Pages.
    Scat Pack Bee front fender badging.
    Scat Pack Bee embroidered front seat logos.
    Dark Dub Plate instrument panel finish with Liquid Titanium accents.

The Widebody option adds:

    Stiffer front springs.
    Retuned dampers.
    Larger front and rear anti-roll bars.
    Adaptive damping suspension.
    Unique front fascia with integrated splitter.
    Hellcat rear spoiler.

At the bottom rung of the ladder are the Challenger R/T and GT RWD, which have been fitted with the Super Track Pak for 2019. This adds a performance suspension, upgraded electric power steering, 20-in. Granite Crystal wheels, paddle shifters (when the optional the automatic transmission is ordered), new hood and front splitter, and Houndstooth cloth-covered performance seats.

Both models are available with the Performance Handling Group, though there are differences in the option group based on which model is ordered. For example, the GT RWD with the Performance Handling Group gets wider 20 x 9-in. Black Noise wheels, a larger rear anti-roll bar, and four-piston (front and rear) Brembo brakes. The Challenger R/T, on the other hand, adds 20 x 9.5-in. wheels shod with 274/45 ZR-20 Pirelli P-Zero tires, a limited-slip differential, and revised handling.

The Virtual Driver