5 things to know about the 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody

Dodge first introduced the Widebody styling on the Challenger for the 2019 model year.

Lest Charger fans feel left out, it now gets the Widebody treatment for the 2020 model year.

But what does that mean, and how much is it going to cost you? Here are the five things you absolutely need to know about the 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody.

Choose from Scat Pack or SRT Hellcat

The Charger Widebody will be available as a Scat Pack or an SRT Hellcat.

The Scat Pack, like its slim-bodied brother, comes equipped with a 392-cubic-inch Hemi V-8 engine that delivers 485 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque. It will have a base price of $45,995 – that’s just $6K more than the regular Scat Pack.

The SRT Hellcat will only be available as a Widebody variant for 2020, and it comes equipped with the 6.2-liter Hemi V-8 Hellcat engine. It will deliver 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. The base price of this vehicle will be $69,645.

For 2020 only, there will also be a Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition. More on that below.

Widebody is more than fender flares

Yes, the obvious difference is the 3.5-inch fender flares that accommodate 20-inch by 11-inch wheels and wider Pirelli 305/35ZR20 tires.

But other changes include modified springs, sway bars and shocks; increased front spring rates; a larger rear sway bar; revised damper calibration; a specially tuned suspension with Bilstein three-mode adaptive damping; and standard electric power steering.

The grippier tires and SRT tuning also allow the Widebody variants to have faster lap times than their slim-bodied counterparts.

Performance specs are:

• SRT Hellcat: 0-to-60 mph in 3.6 seconds, quarter-mile time of 10.96 seconds, top speed of 196 mph
• Scat Pack: 0-to-60 mph in 4.3 seconds, quarter-mile time of 12.4 seconds, top speed of 176 mph

The Daytona 50th Anniversary Special Edition will be a limited run

The Daytona will fall under the SRT Hellcat line, and it gets the same 6.2-liter Hemi engine. However, it will be specially tuned to deliver 717 horsepower – 10 more horsepower than its “non-special” version.

The 50th Anniversary Special Edition pays homage to the 1969 Charger Daytona and will add a unique “Daytona” decklid and rear-quarter decals. It’s only available in four colors – B5 Blue, Pitch Black, Triple Nickel and White Knuckle – and it will have a limited run of just 501 vehicles.

The design is unapologetic and aggressive

“We wanted to make it something a kid would want to put on a poster in his bedroom,” said Chris Piscitelli, manager for Dodge/SRT exterior design. “And that’s not easy to do when you’re talking about a sedan.”

So, in addition to the flared fenders and wide tires, the Widebody has unique badging, a new and functional mail-slot grille, front splitters that integrate into the widebody [comma] and a new rear fascia.

The overall effect is a wider stance and angry face under the guise of a family sedan.

“With this car, the idea was, quite simply, to make it bad ass,” Piscitelli said.

This is just “step 1”

During the press preview, Matt Huber, senior manager for Dodge/SRT product, said Dodge is releasing a constant stream of products specifically for its enthusiasts.

The automaker has chosen to focus on what its consumer wants, and pretty much ignore the other 97 percent of the marketplace – which seems to be working since both Charger and Challenger are experiencing increased sales.

But the most interesting thing Huber said during his presentation was that Charger fans are a bit jealous of the attention given to Challenger’s performance.

“Today is step 1 to rectify that,” he said.

If this is step 1, we can only speculate what step 2 might be. But if we look at the Challenger lineup, one of the only unexplored frontiers is of the Demon dimension.

Shall we dare to dream?

The bottom line

In the words of Huber: The Dodge Charger Widebody is “a badass family sedan.”

It manages to straddle the line of fun and functional with cushy seat bolsters that hold you in place during aggressive driving maneuvers and rear seats that easily fit two car seats.

This is an aggressive step for a large sedan, making Charger the fastest and most powerful vehicle in its class.

We can’t wait to see what’s next.