Dodge Has Made A Widebody Challenger Hellcat And You Want One

Believe it or not, the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat has 275-section rear tyres as standard. Yep, 275mm wide tyres that are given the task of taming 697bhp, something they can’t really do.

It’s no wonder that the Demon - the Hellcat’s big brother - ditches those in favour of beefy 325-section boots front and rear to avoid becoming nothing more than an on-demand burnout machine. Now though, you don’t have to buy a Demon to get a Challenger with fatter tyres, and it’s all thanks to the new SRT Hellcat Widebody.

It has 305/35/20 Pirelli P Zero hoops stuffed under its newly flared arches, resulting in a 9cm increase in overall width. The arch flares are lifted straight from the Demon, and the 20-inch wheels reference the Hellcat’s sibling. The design is called - ahem - ‘Devil’s Rim’.

The increased contact patch has a marked effect on performance. The Hellcat Widebody lapped a 1.7 mile track two seconds faster than the standard car, completed a standing quarter-mile 0.3sec faster at 10.9 seconds, and is able to hit 0-60mph one tenth faster. It pulls more Gs too, with a lateral skid pan test yielding a result of 0.97g - a 0.4g improvement.

The Widebody also gets a front splitter borrowed from the Demon, plus a new electronic power steering system that can be adjusted via a set of driving modes.

Interested? It’ll set you back $71,495, $7300 more than a regular Hellcat. It’ll be available to order in July, and will arrive in dealerships during the third quarter of 2017.