2020 Dodge Challenger 392 R/T Scat Pack Widebody
Discussion
Over the years, I’ve enjoyed owning a diverse range of cars, from French hot hatches to JDM rally legends and, more recently, German Autobahn stormers. I had considered a used 911, but numerous trips to the US drew me towards American muscle cars, especially the modern retro models that emerged over the past decade. With the ever-impending forceable switch to EV’s, I had a itch to scratch, and that came in the form of a good ole’ American V8.
During my past few holidays to the US, I had rented a Charger, a Mustang, and a Camaro. I found the Mustang's interior design and build quality to be terribly disappointing. The Camaro SS was fantastic: loud, fast, and surprisingly economical with it’s cylinder deactivation technology. However, sat in the car with the very low roofline, it was like looking out through a post box aperture. The back seats were completely useless and the boot, or trunk in US terminology, was tiny.
That left the Challenger. By far the best looking of the Muscle car trio in my eyes. The issue was……I had never driven one!
My US rental cars:
Charger
Camaro
Mustang
I had driven the 4 door saloon Charger in 5.7L Hemi V8 form, which shares the same underpinnings, engine, and gearbox as the Challenger. Dodge's entry level V8; the 5.7L Hemi (375 bhp), I found to be very lethargic and was more noise than go, so I quickly discounted that engine. The next engine in the V8 line-up is the 6.4L (485 bhp but nearly always putting out 500bhp+ in real world terms) followed by the range topping 6.2L Supercharged (707/717 bhp depending on year). I thought I best mention Trim Levels. This is where things can get a little confusing. The 5.7 is available in R/T trim. R/T standing for Road & Track. The 6.4 is also badged as R/T or T/A (Trans Am) but both of these come under the wider Scat Pack Trim line up. The 6.2L is as most Petrolheads know, is famously (or infamously) known as the Hellcat. There are further iterations of the Hellcat including the Hellcat Redeye, Super Stock and Demon, all with varying sizes of Superchargers.
Both the 6.4 and 6.2 models are engineered by Dodge's in-house tuning arm, SRT (equivalent to Mercedes' AMG).
The Scat Pack and Hellcat models are available in Narrowbody or Widebody forms, with the widebody models offering enhanced features like wide fender flares, competition suspension, adaptive damping, six-piston Brembo brakes, and a performance shift indicator. It also includes Performance Pages where the suspension, steering and gearing could be adjusted, selectable driving modes, and the all-important line lock (well if burn outs and drag racing are your thing that is!).
Given the better handling, the Widebody model seemed more suitable for UK roads.
Narrowbody Challenger
Widebody Challenger
Dodge dealerships wouldn’t sell a new car that was being exported for fear that they would lose their license/franchise (I, and many others have tried but it’s an absolute no go!).
I initially looked at the Hellcat, but used prices were higher than new ones, and I couldn’t justify the costs of a low-mileage widebody version. High-mileage Hellcats were likely to have been driven hard and were well known to suffer from supercharger issues. The lack of UK specialists for supercharger repairs and maintenance made me very hesitant to opt for a Hellcat. I had also read quite a few reviews (and watched a few in car videos) from UK Hellcat owners who stated that their cars were pretty much undriveable on UK roads. The videos seemed to back this up too.
That left the Scat Pack Widebody. Most reviews praised this model as the sweet spot of the lineup, with more usable power than the Hellcat, lighter weight, and better handling. Surprisingly, the Scat Pack is quicker down the drag strip until the 2/3 mark when the Hellcat's supercharger kicks in. Not that the last part matters in real world driving terms.
So in 2020, with the decision finally being made, I decided to look for my ideal Scat Pack Widebody, but, the next quandary was, what colour should I opt for?
I joined the UK Challenger Owners Group on Facebook and attended a meet in Northamptonshire with the intention of seeing what some of these colours looked like in person. I initially favoured B5 Blue, but after seeing it in the metal, I wasn’t much of a fan. Then I saw a lady called Dawn’s beautiful Indigo Blue Hellcat Redeye and fell in love with that colour instantly. Depending on the lighting it changed from light blue to dark blue to almost Purple. I loved it!
Dodge Challenger Colour Options
B5 Blue
Indigo Blue
With Model and colour firmly decided, I now had to decide whether to opt for manual or automatic gearbox. Now, I am very much normally for the purist driving pleasures and would normally go for a manual transmission. However, I was worried about how would I get on with the gearstick being on the opposite side from what I was used to. Added to the not favourable reviews from manual owners who almost always stated that the manual gearbox lacked feel and was like ‘stirring porridge’. This brought back many unhappy memory’s of having driven many miles over the years in manual Land Rover Defender’s and how awful the gear selector was in those! This pushed me more towards the automatic gearbox. The automatic Challengers being fitted with excellent TF (TorqueFlite) 8 speed automatic transmission, widely regarded as the best automatic gearbox on the market. So decision made, I was going to get the automatic gearbox.
I now had to start looking for what options I wanted on my car.
After much time studying the Dodge Challenger brochures, I had managed to narrow it down. I had to have a car with the Plus Package and Driver Convenience Group. The Plus Package includes half Alcantara/Napa Leather Ventilated Seats, Leather Stitched Dash and Door panels, Power Adjustable Steering Column and Ambient Lighting. The Alcantara seats looking far better than the standard hard cloth seats and I liked the sound of the ventilated seats, something which I had never experienced before. The Driver Convenience Group includes Blind-Spot and Rear Cross-Path Detection, High Intensity Discharge Headlamps and Power Multi-Function Mirrors with Manual Fold-Away. The Blind-Spot and Rear Cross-Path Detection in my eyes being a must have due to the Challengers big rear quarter blind spot. Not a must have but rather a nicety I would have liked, was the Red Brembo Brake Caliper option. Anything else was a bonus. Looking through all the used Challengers in the US, revealed that most owners seemed to stick with the standard cloth seats, which looked awful.
The Standard Cloth Interior
The Plus Package with optional Red Alcantara interior
At this time (2021), I was deployed to the Middle East with the Military. Every evening I would spend some time hunting down my perfect Challenger online. Eventually I found one in Kentucky at a Dodge Dealership. Indigo Blue with the TF transmission and both of the options packs I wanted. The car had only 500 miles on the clock and had been owned by an Older Gentleman who worked in the Dealerships Parts Department. Apparently his wife didn’t like travelling in the car and hence it was for sale. I contacted the dealership and informed them of my interest and that I was happy to pay the asking price. However when it came to the State Sales Tax, which wasn’t applicable to me, they seemed to deem this as too much effort (it really wasn’t) and stopped corresponding with me!
Onto the next car. This car was located in New York and it was the right colour and options again, but with a bit more miles. However, it had a Matt Black bonnet, a favourite mod by some in the Mopar fraternity. I wasn’t much of a fan, and after much deliberation, I decided against it.
It was at this time, I had posted in the UK Challenger Owners page on Facebook about my search for my perfect Challenger, and a gentleman called Marc who ran United Exports in Houston, Texas, contacted me. Marc was a Brit who had emigrated to the US. He had previously worked at a Dodge Dealership and had now branched out with his own company. He offered to look for a Challenger Stateside for me. With Marc's assistance, the search continued. Indigo Blue was proving a hard colour to track down, with Dodge only making around 400 cars in that colour. Every time I did find an Indigo Blue car, it was either a manual or base options. In fact, I had decided to consider other colours such was the scarcity of Indigo Blue cars. I missed out on a white car with all the options I wanted and was getting more and more frustrated with my search.
With my deployment to the Middle East coming to and end and with my wallet bulging from all my deployment pay, I was determined to get my dream car as soon as possible. I had just arrived back in the UK and turned my phone back on after my flight, when I received a text from Marc.
Marc had found a 2020 car, Indigo Blue with the TF transmission, 1,300 miles, with EVERY option, including the Plus Package and Driver Convenience Group Packs. The other options included the Harman Kardon 18 Speaker Surround Sound system With Subwoofer, Technology Group (Forward Collision Warning, Adaptive Speed Control, Automatic High Beam and Rain Sensitive Wipers), Power Sunroof, SRT Performance Spoiler, Uconnect 4C Sat Nav with 8.4-Inch Display, 5-Year SiriusXM Travel Link Service, 20-Inch x 11.0-Inch Carbon Black Aluminium Wheels and Red Brembo Brake Calipers. Dodge later confirmed that this car was 1 of 2 made in this colour and spec worldwide!
There was also a few aftermarket parts on the car including a ZL1 Rear Diffuser, JLT Oil Separator, Vibrant 1794 Muffler Delete, Khaos Active Exhaust Delete and the standard Scat Pack/Hellcat bonnet had been replaced for a Hellcat Redeye ‘Double Hood Scoop’ bonnet. This Hellcat Redeye bonnet allegedly adding an extra 20-25bhp with the extra air flow to the air induction.
I really didn't want a car with a sunroof as it reduced the already limited headroom in the car, and being 6ft 3" tall, I needed every bit headroom. However, the Americans seem to love Sunroofs, and it was very common to find them on these cars.
Best of all, the car was also located in Dallas, Texas, so was easier Marc to organise transport.
Not wanting to lose out on this car, I quickly arranged for an independent inspection of the car, with the Lemon Squad. Inspection report received, Marc travelled up to Dallas, I transferred over the money, and Marc trailered the car back to Houston for me.
My Challenger in Texas
Whilst awaiting shipping to the UK, I had the Black wheels swapped over for the Devils Rim Widebody wheels which I preferred.
Devils Rim Alloy Wheels
Marc arranged for shipping with Kingstown Shipping, and the car was dually prepared for the process, being placed in a container and loaded onto the ship. To be on the safe side I also arranged Maritime Insurance for the car to cover it’s journey.
The car took around 3 weeks to arrive in Felixstowe in March. I dually set off to collect the car, but there was a snag. The Port workers wanted £560 to just simply push the car out of the container! Absolutely daylight robbery! But as you are the Ports mercy, there is not much you can do. I had never experienced this before when importing cars from the US, so this was a very unexpected suprise. After paying this ridiculous fee, I finally collected the car. The car had been in a container with a beautiful ‘Eleanor’ Mustang replica. Trying not to be side tracked by this beautiful car, I finally clapped eyes on my Challenger in the metal, for the first time. It looked intimidating from the front and the colour just popped in the light and it was HUGE! I started it up and jumped with fright by the roar from the exhaust……and that was just on turn over!!!
Collecting my Challenger from the Port
Sadly, my excitement soon turned to slight disappointment. During shipping the front windscreen had been cracked and the rear spoiler paint had been chipped.
I transported the car to a Gentleman called Nick Haes. Nick is well known in the American car scene for his high quality UK conversions of American cars. Before the conversion could begin, I had to source a replacement front windscreen as it would not pass an IVA Test with the crack in it.
The only supplier in the UK, was American Windscreens who I dually contacted. They ordered me an OEM windscreen but informed me that it would be 3 months until it arrived in the UK.
Three months later I received a phone call from American Windscreens. Sadly the windscreen, along with 2 other Challenger windscreens had been damaged in shipment. I could either wait another 3 months for another order or I could have one of the least damaged windscreens for £100. I decided to go with fitting one of the damaged windscreens. The damage was actually just a tiny mark at the bottom of the passenger side, and would not be visible unless someone pointed it out and looked very closely.
In the meanwhile whilst waiting for the replacement windscreen, Nick converted the car and managed to code ‘Sweeping Rear’ indicators on the rear lights, something which wasn’t available on factory cars. He also fitted Murth Mirrors with the indicators in the glass, this prevented me having to drill the wings and fit ugly aftermarket side indicators. Conversion complete, he took the car for the all important IVA test. Unfortunately, I got the call I had been dreading…..it had failed the IVA Test. It had transpired that during shipping, the inside of one of the rear tyres had been badly gouged. Being on the inside, this hadn’t been visible until this time. The car was brought back to Nick’s yard, and now I had to try and buy a new tyre for it. I tried searching online for the same size Pirellis tyre that was fitted to it. The only tyres in that size in the UK were Ferrari branded tyres, coming in at an eye watering £495 EACH!
A common upgrade in the US is upgrading the standard size 305 rear tyres for 315’s, so I looked to see how much these were. I managed to get 2 Toyo Sport 315’s for LESS than 1 Pirelli tyre. With the Toyo’s fitted, it was back to the IVA Test centre which the car finally passed.
The car about to have it's IVA Test
With the car finally registered, UK plate fitted, it was finally time to get it out on the open road and enjoy it. The question was.........would it be a good drive?
More pics of the car can be find here: http://instagram.com/UK_Scat_Pack
During my past few holidays to the US, I had rented a Charger, a Mustang, and a Camaro. I found the Mustang's interior design and build quality to be terribly disappointing. The Camaro SS was fantastic: loud, fast, and surprisingly economical with it’s cylinder deactivation technology. However, sat in the car with the very low roofline, it was like looking out through a post box aperture. The back seats were completely useless and the boot, or trunk in US terminology, was tiny.
That left the Challenger. By far the best looking of the Muscle car trio in my eyes. The issue was……I had never driven one!
My US rental cars:
Charger
Camaro
Mustang
I had driven the 4 door saloon Charger in 5.7L Hemi V8 form, which shares the same underpinnings, engine, and gearbox as the Challenger. Dodge's entry level V8; the 5.7L Hemi (375 bhp), I found to be very lethargic and was more noise than go, so I quickly discounted that engine. The next engine in the V8 line-up is the 6.4L (485 bhp but nearly always putting out 500bhp+ in real world terms) followed by the range topping 6.2L Supercharged (707/717 bhp depending on year). I thought I best mention Trim Levels. This is where things can get a little confusing. The 5.7 is available in R/T trim. R/T standing for Road & Track. The 6.4 is also badged as R/T or T/A (Trans Am) but both of these come under the wider Scat Pack Trim line up. The 6.2L is as most Petrolheads know, is famously (or infamously) known as the Hellcat. There are further iterations of the Hellcat including the Hellcat Redeye, Super Stock and Demon, all with varying sizes of Superchargers.
Both the 6.4 and 6.2 models are engineered by Dodge's in-house tuning arm, SRT (equivalent to Mercedes' AMG).
The Scat Pack and Hellcat models are available in Narrowbody or Widebody forms, with the widebody models offering enhanced features like wide fender flares, competition suspension, adaptive damping, six-piston Brembo brakes, and a performance shift indicator. It also includes Performance Pages where the suspension, steering and gearing could be adjusted, selectable driving modes, and the all-important line lock (well if burn outs and drag racing are your thing that is!).
Given the better handling, the Widebody model seemed more suitable for UK roads.
Narrowbody Challenger
Widebody Challenger
Dodge dealerships wouldn’t sell a new car that was being exported for fear that they would lose their license/franchise (I, and many others have tried but it’s an absolute no go!).
I initially looked at the Hellcat, but used prices were higher than new ones, and I couldn’t justify the costs of a low-mileage widebody version. High-mileage Hellcats were likely to have been driven hard and were well known to suffer from supercharger issues. The lack of UK specialists for supercharger repairs and maintenance made me very hesitant to opt for a Hellcat. I had also read quite a few reviews (and watched a few in car videos) from UK Hellcat owners who stated that their cars were pretty much undriveable on UK roads. The videos seemed to back this up too.
That left the Scat Pack Widebody. Most reviews praised this model as the sweet spot of the lineup, with more usable power than the Hellcat, lighter weight, and better handling. Surprisingly, the Scat Pack is quicker down the drag strip until the 2/3 mark when the Hellcat's supercharger kicks in. Not that the last part matters in real world driving terms.
So in 2020, with the decision finally being made, I decided to look for my ideal Scat Pack Widebody, but, the next quandary was, what colour should I opt for?
I joined the UK Challenger Owners Group on Facebook and attended a meet in Northamptonshire with the intention of seeing what some of these colours looked like in person. I initially favoured B5 Blue, but after seeing it in the metal, I wasn’t much of a fan. Then I saw a lady called Dawn’s beautiful Indigo Blue Hellcat Redeye and fell in love with that colour instantly. Depending on the lighting it changed from light blue to dark blue to almost Purple. I loved it!
Dodge Challenger Colour Options
B5 Blue
Indigo Blue
With Model and colour firmly decided, I now had to decide whether to opt for manual or automatic gearbox. Now, I am very much normally for the purist driving pleasures and would normally go for a manual transmission. However, I was worried about how would I get on with the gearstick being on the opposite side from what I was used to. Added to the not favourable reviews from manual owners who almost always stated that the manual gearbox lacked feel and was like ‘stirring porridge’. This brought back many unhappy memory’s of having driven many miles over the years in manual Land Rover Defender’s and how awful the gear selector was in those! This pushed me more towards the automatic gearbox. The automatic Challengers being fitted with excellent TF (TorqueFlite) 8 speed automatic transmission, widely regarded as the best automatic gearbox on the market. So decision made, I was going to get the automatic gearbox.
I now had to start looking for what options I wanted on my car.
After much time studying the Dodge Challenger brochures, I had managed to narrow it down. I had to have a car with the Plus Package and Driver Convenience Group. The Plus Package includes half Alcantara/Napa Leather Ventilated Seats, Leather Stitched Dash and Door panels, Power Adjustable Steering Column and Ambient Lighting. The Alcantara seats looking far better than the standard hard cloth seats and I liked the sound of the ventilated seats, something which I had never experienced before. The Driver Convenience Group includes Blind-Spot and Rear Cross-Path Detection, High Intensity Discharge Headlamps and Power Multi-Function Mirrors with Manual Fold-Away. The Blind-Spot and Rear Cross-Path Detection in my eyes being a must have due to the Challengers big rear quarter blind spot. Not a must have but rather a nicety I would have liked, was the Red Brembo Brake Caliper option. Anything else was a bonus. Looking through all the used Challengers in the US, revealed that most owners seemed to stick with the standard cloth seats, which looked awful.
The Standard Cloth Interior
The Plus Package with optional Red Alcantara interior
At this time (2021), I was deployed to the Middle East with the Military. Every evening I would spend some time hunting down my perfect Challenger online. Eventually I found one in Kentucky at a Dodge Dealership. Indigo Blue with the TF transmission and both of the options packs I wanted. The car had only 500 miles on the clock and had been owned by an Older Gentleman who worked in the Dealerships Parts Department. Apparently his wife didn’t like travelling in the car and hence it was for sale. I contacted the dealership and informed them of my interest and that I was happy to pay the asking price. However when it came to the State Sales Tax, which wasn’t applicable to me, they seemed to deem this as too much effort (it really wasn’t) and stopped corresponding with me!
Onto the next car. This car was located in New York and it was the right colour and options again, but with a bit more miles. However, it had a Matt Black bonnet, a favourite mod by some in the Mopar fraternity. I wasn’t much of a fan, and after much deliberation, I decided against it.
It was at this time, I had posted in the UK Challenger Owners page on Facebook about my search for my perfect Challenger, and a gentleman called Marc who ran United Exports in Houston, Texas, contacted me. Marc was a Brit who had emigrated to the US. He had previously worked at a Dodge Dealership and had now branched out with his own company. He offered to look for a Challenger Stateside for me. With Marc's assistance, the search continued. Indigo Blue was proving a hard colour to track down, with Dodge only making around 400 cars in that colour. Every time I did find an Indigo Blue car, it was either a manual or base options. In fact, I had decided to consider other colours such was the scarcity of Indigo Blue cars. I missed out on a white car with all the options I wanted and was getting more and more frustrated with my search.
With my deployment to the Middle East coming to and end and with my wallet bulging from all my deployment pay, I was determined to get my dream car as soon as possible. I had just arrived back in the UK and turned my phone back on after my flight, when I received a text from Marc.
Marc had found a 2020 car, Indigo Blue with the TF transmission, 1,300 miles, with EVERY option, including the Plus Package and Driver Convenience Group Packs. The other options included the Harman Kardon 18 Speaker Surround Sound system With Subwoofer, Technology Group (Forward Collision Warning, Adaptive Speed Control, Automatic High Beam and Rain Sensitive Wipers), Power Sunroof, SRT Performance Spoiler, Uconnect 4C Sat Nav with 8.4-Inch Display, 5-Year SiriusXM Travel Link Service, 20-Inch x 11.0-Inch Carbon Black Aluminium Wheels and Red Brembo Brake Calipers. Dodge later confirmed that this car was 1 of 2 made in this colour and spec worldwide!
There was also a few aftermarket parts on the car including a ZL1 Rear Diffuser, JLT Oil Separator, Vibrant 1794 Muffler Delete, Khaos Active Exhaust Delete and the standard Scat Pack/Hellcat bonnet had been replaced for a Hellcat Redeye ‘Double Hood Scoop’ bonnet. This Hellcat Redeye bonnet allegedly adding an extra 20-25bhp with the extra air flow to the air induction.
I really didn't want a car with a sunroof as it reduced the already limited headroom in the car, and being 6ft 3" tall, I needed every bit headroom. However, the Americans seem to love Sunroofs, and it was very common to find them on these cars.
Best of all, the car was also located in Dallas, Texas, so was easier Marc to organise transport.
Not wanting to lose out on this car, I quickly arranged for an independent inspection of the car, with the Lemon Squad. Inspection report received, Marc travelled up to Dallas, I transferred over the money, and Marc trailered the car back to Houston for me.
My Challenger in Texas
Whilst awaiting shipping to the UK, I had the Black wheels swapped over for the Devils Rim Widebody wheels which I preferred.
Devils Rim Alloy Wheels
Marc arranged for shipping with Kingstown Shipping, and the car was dually prepared for the process, being placed in a container and loaded onto the ship. To be on the safe side I also arranged Maritime Insurance for the car to cover it’s journey.
The car took around 3 weeks to arrive in Felixstowe in March. I dually set off to collect the car, but there was a snag. The Port workers wanted £560 to just simply push the car out of the container! Absolutely daylight robbery! But as you are the Ports mercy, there is not much you can do. I had never experienced this before when importing cars from the US, so this was a very unexpected suprise. After paying this ridiculous fee, I finally collected the car. The car had been in a container with a beautiful ‘Eleanor’ Mustang replica. Trying not to be side tracked by this beautiful car, I finally clapped eyes on my Challenger in the metal, for the first time. It looked intimidating from the front and the colour just popped in the light and it was HUGE! I started it up and jumped with fright by the roar from the exhaust……and that was just on turn over!!!
Collecting my Challenger from the Port
Sadly, my excitement soon turned to slight disappointment. During shipping the front windscreen had been cracked and the rear spoiler paint had been chipped.
I transported the car to a Gentleman called Nick Haes. Nick is well known in the American car scene for his high quality UK conversions of American cars. Before the conversion could begin, I had to source a replacement front windscreen as it would not pass an IVA Test with the crack in it.
The only supplier in the UK, was American Windscreens who I dually contacted. They ordered me an OEM windscreen but informed me that it would be 3 months until it arrived in the UK.
Three months later I received a phone call from American Windscreens. Sadly the windscreen, along with 2 other Challenger windscreens had been damaged in shipment. I could either wait another 3 months for another order or I could have one of the least damaged windscreens for £100. I decided to go with fitting one of the damaged windscreens. The damage was actually just a tiny mark at the bottom of the passenger side, and would not be visible unless someone pointed it out and looked very closely.
In the meanwhile whilst waiting for the replacement windscreen, Nick converted the car and managed to code ‘Sweeping Rear’ indicators on the rear lights, something which wasn’t available on factory cars. He also fitted Murth Mirrors with the indicators in the glass, this prevented me having to drill the wings and fit ugly aftermarket side indicators. Conversion complete, he took the car for the all important IVA test. Unfortunately, I got the call I had been dreading…..it had failed the IVA Test. It had transpired that during shipping, the inside of one of the rear tyres had been badly gouged. Being on the inside, this hadn’t been visible until this time. The car was brought back to Nick’s yard, and now I had to try and buy a new tyre for it. I tried searching online for the same size Pirellis tyre that was fitted to it. The only tyres in that size in the UK were Ferrari branded tyres, coming in at an eye watering £495 EACH!
A common upgrade in the US is upgrading the standard size 305 rear tyres for 315’s, so I looked to see how much these were. I managed to get 2 Toyo Sport 315’s for LESS than 1 Pirelli tyre. With the Toyo’s fitted, it was back to the IVA Test centre which the car finally passed.
The car about to have it's IVA Test
With the car finally registered, UK plate fitted, it was finally time to get it out on the open road and enjoy it. The question was.........would it be a good drive?
More pics of the car can be find here: http://instagram.com/UK_Scat_Pack
Edited by CarMadScot on Tuesday 23 July 20:21
Love this. I hired a Challenger from Hertz earlier in the year, my first time driving anything like that. We drove from Miami to the Keys so barely got to 55 for most of the journey but I had a smile on my face the whole time. Definitely the best looking of those kind of cars and yours looks amazing. I am also in the ME right now and someone has a nice grey one in camp - the fuel bills will be significantly cheaper!
Love the Eleanor as well, great stuff.
Love the Eleanor as well, great stuff.
CountyAFC said:
UK owners say their Hellcats are pretty much undrivable on UK roads? Can you link the videos please. I'm toying with the idea of a Hellcat Redeye.
@CountyAFC I will have a look for these videos. I seem to remember one was from LLF and he couldn't get the power down on a country road. It was torque steering everywhere, and that was 'just' the tamer (can you even use that word for a 707 bhp car!) Hellcat.Incidentally, @rufmeister, above, has a beautiful Hellcat Redeye for sale. I've seen it in person. Just stunning.
Edited by CarMadScot on Sunday 14th July 13:25
where I would disagree with you is that the 5.7 is all noise and no go, though I am biased, and I'm the opposite of you when it comes to B5 (I started out feeling it was distinctly 'meh' and have grown to really appreciate it - though I'd still prefer Plum Crazy or Sublime
Obviously it's not as quick as its 2 bigger engined siblings but for day-to-day it's more than adequate with a nice Brucie-bonus when it comes to filling up
ETA - I really like the red seats in your pic
Obviously it's not as quick as its 2 bigger engined siblings but for day-to-day it's more than adequate with a nice Brucie-bonus when it comes to filling up
ETA - I really like the red seats in your pic
Edited by DodgyGeezer on Sunday 14th July 13:21
DodgyGeezer said:
where I would disagree with you is that the 5.7 is all noise and no go, though I am biased, and I'm the opposite of you when it comes to B5 (I started out feeling it was distinctly 'meh' and have grown to really appreciate it - though I'd still prefer Plum Crazy or Sublime
I agree on the 5.7 having driven an auto Challenger in Florida which led to my eventual purchase. Plenty of punch! Ended up with the 6.4 myself as I was moving from a GM 5.7 and thought why not go for more 
Also I've found the manual box to be pretty good.
DodgyGeezer said:
where I would disagree with you is that the 5.7 is all noise and no go, though I am biased, and I'm the opposite of you when it comes to B5 (I started out feeling it was distinctly 'meh' and have grown to really appreciate it - though I'd still prefer Plum Crazy or Sublime
I drove my 5.7L Charger just like a rental car should be driven, and fully utilising the big, straight, wide open Texan roads. But I just found it completely lacked any Oooomph. It made a great noise but lacked the grunt and speed to go with the noise. The Camaro on the other hand, was a beast. The 375bhp of the 5.7 isn't enough for the over 2 tonnes of weight IMHO. Although the 4 door saloon bodied Charger, like I drove is, I imagine, a little heavier than the 2 door Challenger.Your car looks great in the B5 Blue. Love the Shaker too. I would have liked a Widebody Shaker but I could only get a new one at the time (unless I considered a used Widebody Shaker 50th Anniversary version, which I wasn't a fan of!). I would have retro-fitted a Shaker bonnet to mine if it hadn't already come with the Hellcat Redeye bonnet.
I can't believe you get 42.6mpg! That's fantastic. The most I have seen in mine is 26mpg. I don't drive it in economy mode though as it can lead to lifter failure over time.
I see also you have some posts of your Yank car ownership experiences. That's my afternoon reading sorted then! Thanks
Edited by CarMadScot on Sunday 14th July 13:47
I'm looking at a Challenger myself in the future. It's my next savings goal. Although I'll be looking at an already imported one with either the 5.7 or 6.1. Early cars. My budget one extend to one of these fire breathing monsters I'm afraid!
Lovely car though (aren't they all?).
Question, who did you get insurance with? Toying with the idea invariably led me to price comparison websites where none of them even recognised the car. The closest was a 3.6 SXT instead of any of the V8 variants. I'm not expecting it to be a £200 a year job but if the price comes back at £4,000 then I'll just have to forever want one.
Lovely car though (aren't they all?).
Question, who did you get insurance with? Toying with the idea invariably led me to price comparison websites where none of them even recognised the car. The closest was a 3.6 SXT instead of any of the V8 variants. I'm not expecting it to be a £200 a year job but if the price comes back at £4,000 then I'll just have to forever want one.
RazerSauber said:
I'm looking at a Challenger myself in the future. It's my next savings goal. Although I'll be looking at an already imported one with either the 5.7 or 6.1. Early cars. My budget one extend to one of these fire breathing monsters I'm afraid!
Lovely car though (aren't they all?).
Question, who did you get insurance with? Toying with the idea invariably led me to price comparison websites where none of them even recognised the car. The closest was a 3.6 SXT instead of any of the V8 variants. I'm not expecting it to be a £200 a year job but if the price comes back at £4,000 then I'll just have to forever want one.
insurance is (generally) cheaper than the 'equivalent' BMW or Audi coupe - the biggest issue you may have is finding someone to insure (1st year) with no LHD experience, so you're doing yourself a massive favour by not getting a Hellcat! Lovely car though (aren't they all?).
Question, who did you get insurance with? Toying with the idea invariably led me to price comparison websites where none of them even recognised the car. The closest was a 3.6 SXT instead of any of the V8 variants. I'm not expecting it to be a £200 a year job but if the price comes back at £4,000 then I'll just have to forever want one.
There are only a handful of insurers for these car. Mainstream insurance companies won't touch it so you have insure with a specialist company. Howden's (Thatchams Branch only) are the favourite amongst Challenger owners. Brentacre used to be the go to insurance company but they are moving away from insuring imports. Adrian Flux is another company. Be aware, most of these companies require previous experience of owning and driving a LHD car in the UK (overseas experience is not accepted), experience of driving a V8 and experience of driving a similar BHP car.
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