2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 First Look

Just when you thought the Hellcat franchise was tapped out, FCA uses the Dodge Mile-High National Hot Rod Association Nationals event in Denver to announce its latest buzz model: the 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320. The drag-oriented, street-legal muscle car for the grassroots drag racer will go into production by the end of the year for sale in early 2019.

Efforts to define Dodge as America’s sports car brand continue with the Challenger 1320, which follows a line of performance muscle cars that started with the 2008 Challenger and was followed by the 2015 Hellcat, 2018 Demon, and 2019 Redeye.

In the 1320, a 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 generates 485 horsepower, 475 lb-ft of torque, and is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. Dodge claims it will cover the quarter mile in 11.7 seconds at 115 mph, fastest for a naturally aspirated, street-legal muscle car. The $45,980 MSRP includes the $3,995 1320 package as well as the $1,595 automatic transmission (and $1,395 destination) over the regular R/T Scat Pack trim.

“It’s a special model, a buzz model,” says Steve Beahm, head of passenger car brands – Dodge, SRT, Chrysler, and Fiat for FCA North America. “The 1320 is intended to be a vehicle that someone can drive to work, but if they’re working on a Saturday they can head over to the drag strip and take it down the track.”

The 1320 is essentially a 2019 Challenger with the new Widebody Scat Pack. It has the bulging aluminum hood from the outgoing Hellcat and enough drag strip technology from the Demon for the serious drag racer.

That includes an SRT-tuned Adaptive Damping Suspension with exclusive Drag mode, extreme-duty 41-spline halfshafts, line lock, and the TransBrake that was developed for the Demon to address wheel spin on launch. This allows the car to be staged with a foot only on the gas because the TransBrake mechanically locks the transmission’s output shaft as the throttle builds. When it unlocks, the transmission sends full power to the rear. For those who take the 1320 hot-lapping, there are cooldown features.

Like the Demon, the 1320 comes with just a driver’s seat, but buyers can add passenger and rear seats as an option (they were a $1 option on the Demon). Specially developed Nexen 275/40R20l street-legal drag radial tires are available for better grip.

To denote the new model, Dodge has created a modern version of the Dodge Super Bee logo. The new Angry Bee logo can be found on the front fenders, instrument panel, startup splash screen in the instrument gauge cluster, and it’s even illuminated in the headlights. There will also be additional screens in the instrument cluster to set up your car the way you want for the track.

Beahm said Scat Pack accounts for about 20 percent of Challenger volume. As for the growing Challenger line, he said lots of people want a muscle car and Dodge has the youngest buyer demographic in the lineup.

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