Just a few weeks ago, the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Product Design Office pulled the covers off of what they are calling a “concept” Dodge Charger at the 14th annual Spring Fest event. Almost a year ago, last May we said a widebody Charger was likely coming and back in February, we broke the news that the Dodge brand was, in fact, bringing two Dodge Charger Widebody models to market in the 2020 model year.
According to our sources, there are about a dozen of the Dodge Charger Widebody prototypes running around different testing areas in the United States. Some of these prototypes are carrying license plates from different states as well. The cars are also wearing similar graphics as the car that was shown at Spring Fest, which is a busy design to alter the cars looks and not just appeal to people, but make it harder for photographers to shoot the cars from long distances. The SRT engineering team did a very similar thing throughout 2017 when testing the new 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon prototypes, by making the cars look like something a regular Joe threw together in his garage and placed graphics from popular manufacturers all over the car.
Now, while the public was getting its original peek of the car at Spring Fest, several other prototypes were being caught driving around the Metro Detroit area. Our friends zl1_dre_92c and widebody_392 caught these cars out doing routine testing. Which in itself, makes it hard for the company to say it’s just a concept.
The car that was on display did show one feature that was very different than the rest of the prototypes, a new rear spoiler. The black rear spoiler is bigger and more swept back then the current Charger SRT HELLCAT spoiler. According to our sources from FCA, this is a look at a new optional spoiler that will debut in 2020. The rear spoiler will be similar to the new SRT Performance Spoiler (SRT Barracuda Spoiler as its called in Canada) on Challenger models and will be available on several models across the lineup.
While we haven’t seen or heard any proof of an SRT HELLCAT Redeye version of the Charger coming, we do know that the R/T Scat Pack and SRT HELLCAT Widebody models are a go for 2020. We wouldn’t put it past Dodge to bring something to market like a 797 horsepower model, but so far nothing is showing us that it will happen just yet. Charger SRT HELLCAT models will get a horsepower boost for the 2020 model year as well, matching its Challenger sibling with 717 horsepower.
Dodge has recently announced that it will be showing off its new “Stars and Stripes” special edition Charger and Challenger models at the New York International Auto Show later this week, Dodge is not holding any scheduled press conferences at the show to debut a new Charger Widebody. We expect the brand to drop an official announcement right around the time of the Woodward Dream Cruise in Metro Detroit. The brand has done a lot of unveiling of its performance lineup at the event in recent years. Those models include the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT HELLCAT, the 2017 Dodge Challenger T/A and the 2017 Dodge Charger Daytona.
Special thanks to our friends zl1_dre_92c, widebody_392, Mission_Flyer, and abbyzarate21 for help providing the video and photos for content.
