- it seems that dodge is working on a widebody version of the charger sedan, as previewed by this "concept" version that, to our eye, looks to be close to production.
- like the challenger widebody, this version of the charger is exactly what its name suggests: a charger with a wider body.
- if the charger widebody does reach production, expect it to have a different wheel and tire setup to provide improved handling and more cornering grip.
update 6/27/19: dodge announced that the 2020 dodge charger srt hellcat now features a standard widebody kit, which will be optional on the 2020 dodge charger r/t scat pack.
update 6/26/19: dodge shared a short teaser video on twitter that suggests the debut of the charger widebody is coming soon. it shows a charger under a sheet, and the car appears to have flared fenders. stay tuned for more.
dodge may soon port over the challenger coupe's widebody setup to its charger srt sedan sibling, if this concept car shown at spring fest (sf14), a festival in california celebrating chrysler's lx-platform cars, is any indication. dodge calls this a "design concept," but it looks pretty darn real to us.
the key change that the widebody brings to the charger is its exaggerated fender flares, which increase the car's width. in the challenger, these wider fenders allow for a chunkier tire setup with 305-width rubber on all corners. we tested a challenger hellcat widebody and found it offered more grip than the narrow-body car, even if it wasn't any quicker in a straight line. at our 2018 lightning lap event, a the widebody challenger beat a charger hellcat by 1.1 seconds.
fca design head mark trostle shared a few images of the charger widebody concept on instagram. it wears a graphical red, black, and white wrap but otherwise looks like an entirely production-ready charger. fca says it's using the concept to "gauge feedback from the huge dodge charger, challenger, and chrysler 300 enthusiast base."
we assume they'll like it, so we would be surprised if the charger widebody doesn't reach production soon. expect it to be offered as a package on scat pack, hellcat, and hellcat redeye models, likely with a similar $6000 price premium as the challenger widebody package.
this story was originally published in march 2019.