Dodge Has Built A 485bhp 'Entry-Grade' Street-Legal Drag Racer

Dodge has announced a continuation of the Challenger SRT Demon’s legacy on the drag strip, with a more affordable grass-roots drag machine that still packs a mighty punch over the quarter-mile.

The $45,980 (all-in) Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 is a development of the regular Challenger R/T, named for the number of feet in a quarter-mile. It’s built to take advantage of a few Demon-derived technologies to minimise that all-important sprint time, without forcing the price tag of its Hellcat Redeye big brother.

A naturally-aspirated 6.4-litre V8 up front sends a 485bhp, 475lb ft shockwave to the rear wheels via tech spanning an eight-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission with Line Lock, TransBrake, Torque Reserve and Nexen SUR4G drag radial tyres for ‘repeatable quarter-mile times’.

Dodge says the car will smash the standing quarter in 11.7 seconds at a terminal speed of 115mph. That clips 0.3 seconds off the regular Scat Pack car’s time and makes the 1320 the fastest-accelerating road-legal muscle car you can buy – at least south of anything with forced induction. The 0-60mph sprint flies by in just 3.8 seconds.

SRT-fettled Adaptive Damping Suspension sits beneath standard Challenger arches on what is a subtle but handsome car. On the front wings you’ll see a new interpretation of the old Dodge Super Bee logo, here known as the Angry Bee. The same graphic appears in the instrument cluster and headlights.

The purple car you see here is finished in a new matt shade called ‘Black Eye,’ which Dodge says it could turn into a production colour if customer demand is there. It looks brilliant, so let’s hope it makes it, but there are already 14 cool colours to pick from.

Steve Beahm of FCA North America says there’s a strong market for the Scat Pack 1320:

“All it takes is an evening spent at a local drag strip to learn that the grassroots drag-racing community is large and extremely loyal to their cars.

“We created the Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 for the heart of the sport; the bracket racer who wants to drive to the track, suit up, go fast and go home with a big smile and maybe a trophy in the trunk with minimal prep and upkeep.”