2018 Dodge Challenger Hellcat Widebody First Drive

The greatest strength of the Dodge Hellcat is it stays true to itself and focused on its purpose. No weird add-ons or packages to try to enter another car's scene. No. It's an over-the-top muscle car, not meant for the track, or the mall parking lot, or any concours. Dodge built the Hellcat to make noise (visually, emotionally, and actually) and did a damn fine job too.

But the Hellcat does have one dirty little secret: it handles well. SRT made great use of the long wheelbase and brilliantly balanced the chassis for drivers to indulge in bad behavior without gnarly consequences. In other words, it's fun to take this big beast to the track to lap or drift.

To hoon a Hellcat is a three-step process: 1) Overwhelm the rear with power, 2) counter steer, and 3) massage the throttle to maintain the angle. Easy and all-ay repeatable.

If the basic car needs one thing, maybe - just maybe - it could use a little more tire. You know, a security blanket of sorts to give the front a bit more grip to turn and stop, and the rear the capability to accept a touch more power on corner exit. Dodge agreed. And, thanks to the new Demon street-legal drag car, there just happened to be 20 x 11 inch wheels and fender flares available in the parts bin (for fun, they added the Demon's front-splitter too). A quick call to Pirelli for some 305/35R20 P-Zero tires, and the Hellcat Widebody is born.

The cynical could call this a weird add-on package to try to compete with the more track focused iterations of the Camaro and Mustang, but it's simply not the case. For proof, take a good look at what SRT didn't do. Spring rates, dampers, anti-roll bars, steering and brakes are all carryover from the standard Hellcat. Granted, steering is now electric-assist, but that's there to make different driving modes available, not to create a serious track car.

Instead, SRT built a Hellcat that's more fun on the track -- it's a coincidence the Widebody is also a bit faster. It looks the business, but won't set any FTDs (fast times of the day). And owners shouldn't care -- they'll have the widest smiles. Turn-in is crisp, mid-corner speed is competitive and the driver must balance power to keep the rear end from sliding (unless they want the rear end to slide).

Take a look at the lap around Indianapolis Motor Speedway's infield road course in the video above. I'm besting 140 mph before I brake for turn one, and that's with a crawl-speed chicane thrown on the straightaway. Brakes remain firm under foot, all the time, no worries there. And listen to each corner exit -- it takes a good three to five seconds to get to full power without wiggling the rear. It's a blast.

The Widebody starts at $72,590. Darn reasonable price for such a potent fun machine. Seriously, the Widebody is a road going Wave Runner, a constant thrill. Try not have fun on a Wave Runner. I dare you; the same can be said for the Widebody.