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2019 Dodge Challenger Hellcat with twin-scoop hood spied with no camouflage

Dodge recently teased an updated 2019 Challenger SRT Hellcat sports coupe complete with an all-new hood with dual scoops. It didn't reveal anything else about the vehicle, saying more details were coming. And now we have more details, but not in the way Dodge probably wanted. We can now see the updated Hellcat with the new hood. To be perfectly honest, it's pretty much what we expected. The teaser photos indicated that the hood was the only major body change, and this car confirms it. The rest of the body is identical to a normal Hellcat. The bumpers, grille mesh, even the wheels are all standard Hellcat parts. Even the slotted rotors and Brembo calipers look the same. This car does suggest that the hood will be available on both the narrow-body Hellcat and the Hellcat Widebody, the latter of which was featured in the teaser images. There is actually one other minor difference on this 2019 Hellcat's exterior, and that's the grille badging. There's now a vintage-style badge with "Challenger" written in script off to one side. Currently only one grille and badge design is available on Hellcat, and it features just the SRT Hellcat logo. It appears the SRT badge is still present, but blocked off on this prototype. So it's possible this new badge comes with the new hood as a sort of retro package for Hellcat. We should have all the details on this and other 2019 Challengers when the car is officially revealed later this summer. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Spy Shots View 11 Photos Image Credit: KGP Photography Spy Photos Dodge Coupe Performance dodge challenger srt hellcat

Dodge idles Viper production again at Conner Avenue

You've got to hand it to Dodge for having the gumption to put the original Viper into production in the first place. It was, after all, much more of an emotional decision than a practical one, and a move which saw the first production V10 engine placed in a road car - long before the advent of the Lamborghini Gallardo, Audi R8, Porsche Carrera GT or Lexus LFA, not to mention the other Ford, BMW and Volkswagen Group models that used such engines.
It's now been 22 years since the first Viper entered production and the Viper still rolls on several generations later, but we're sad to say that courageous decision has not always been met with overwhelming sales success. In fact parent Chrysler was forced to idle the Conner Avenue plant where the Viper is made back in April due to slow sales. And while production resumed again as planned on June 23, it apparently didn't do the trick.
As a result, Chrysler corporate communications chief Shawn Morgan revealed to Autoblog that the assembly line has been shut down again for another two weeks. The line was up and running for nearly two full work weeks from June 23 until the holiday weekend that started on Thursday, July 3. But instead of coming back online today as planned, it's been idled again for the weeks of July 7 and 14. That means it will be July 21, at the earliest, before the serpentine supercars start slithering down the assembly line at Conner Avenue again. Once it does, however, production is set to resume at the same pace it was before the shutdown.

2020 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak comes solely with supercharged power

The Dodge Challenger Drag Pak has returned for 2020, five years after the last one arrived, and two years after it began development. And while in many ways it looks like past Drag Paks, there are a number of tweaks that should make this the fastest and most capable factory drag car yet from Mopar. Unlike the last model, only a supercharged 354-cubic-inch (5.8-liter for the imperically challenged) V8 is available. Mopar says it's more powerful than its predecessor, though exact horsepower wasn't given. It did confirm that the previous car was capable of a stunning 1,200 horsepower. The engine is coupled solely to a three-speed automatic transmission with a manual shifter. 2020 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak View 17 Photos Supporting the massive engine are many chassis, suspension and driveline enhancements. The independent rear suspension and axles are gone in favor of a solid axle from Strange and a four-link suspension. The front remains stock except for double-adjustable Bilstein shocks. The engine is mounted to a subframe member that's beneficial both to weight distribution and center of gravity. The car gets high-performance brakes and custom Weld Racing wheels with "DRAGPAK" engraved on them. The interior features a welded-in roll cage certified for quarter-mile times as quick as 7.5 seconds. Helping keep the car planted without increasing drag too much are front and rear spoilers from the road-going Challenger, a new addition compared with the previous car. Every Drag Pak car also comes standard with a wheelie bar and parachute. Dodge will only build 50 of these cars, and they'll only be offered as race cars that aren't legal for the street. The cars will be eligible for competing in sportsman classes in NHRA and NMCA drag racing series. Pricing and availability hasn't been set yet, but will be revealed sometime next year.