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Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody expected for 2021

As of writing, Dodge still won't confirm that a Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody exists, even though camouflaged and debadged versions have already been spotted. Furthermore, before the automaker was forced to cancel this year's LX Sprint Fest 15, a poster advertising the event pictured a Charger SRT with a Dodge Demon-like hood, thought perhaps to be a "concept" version of the sedan in question. Once expected as a product for the 2020 model year, the sedan according to Mopar Insiders is now on the way for 2021 with tweaked looks to go with the centerpiece 6.2-liter Hemi V8 with 797 horsepower and 717 pound-feet of torque. The biggest cosmetic change will be the hood, a larger, redrawn center scoop dominating the front and feeding a cold-intake system pulled from the Demon. The two heat extractors move further back on the hood and rotate 90 degrees to face the sides of the sedan instead of facing the windshield. It will be available only in widebody form, and Redeye badges will adorn the grille, fenders, and decklid. Under the skin, changes compared to the Charger SRT Hellcat include a 6,500-rpm redline, 500 rpm higher than the 707-hp Charger Hellcat, a second dual-stage fuel pump, fitment of the SRT Power Chiller and the SRT After-Run Chiller also from the Demon, as well as stronger prop shafts and half-shafts. MI also mentioned the availability of either a standard 2.62 final drive ratio or an optional 3.09 final gear, production intent for concept wheels that were slated to show at LX Spring Fest, and a new SRT Performance Spoiler. The changes could drop the dash to 60 miles per hour a couple of tenths to 3.4 seconds, and get the widebody's top speed back over the 200-mph mark.  The question now is when the sedan will make its debut. MI thinks the Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody will first greet the public at FCA's What's New media roundup this summer. However, with this month still obscured by coronavirus clouds and even late summer events still being canceled, its impossible to know when we'll get a look at the new muscle sedan. Related Video:    

Marchionne nixes talk of a reborn Dodge Viper

UPDATE: According to Automobile Magazine's Todd Lassa, FCA chief Sergio Marchionne shot down the idea of a reborn Viper, saying "it's not in the plan." Marchionne was referring to Fiat Chrysler's five-year plan, which we've been covering in bits and pieces as the news filters out. But it's not out of the realm of possibility, apparently, as Marchionne reportedly said he'd be happy to see the reptilian supercar back in production. And it's not all bad news, anyway. A reborn Alfa Romeo 8C will get a carbon-fiber chassis holding a mid-mounted twin-turbo V6. With more than 700 horsepower, including an electrically-driven front axle, the car should hit 62 mph in fewer than 3 seconds. Also, three versions of a Maserati Alfieri will be produced, including a convertible. An electrified all-wheel-drive powertrain is planned. So, performance is coming from FCA, it just may not be from Dodge. View 36 Photos First came the mourning for the Dodge Viper, which ended production last year. Then came the Viper's continued sales run as a "Zombie Car;" we just wrote about how the Viper has racked up 11 sales so far this year, two of them in April. Now Car and Driver reports that the two-seater snake will return shorty for its second encore after being discontinued in 2009. The mag isn't equivocal about it, either, writing, "trust us: A new Viper is happening." It won't, however, be the same Viper that brought ten-cylinder brass knuckles to shake down other coupes for their wallets and jewelry. CD says we should expect the same front-mid-engine layout and rear-wheel drive tucked into a new spaceframe. That engine will lose two cylinders, with Chrysler's next-gen, aluminum-block V8 Hemi slotting into the engine bay. The previous Viper's V10 had grown to 8.4 liters and 640 horsepower by the time it drove into the sunset. CD guesses the coming Viper will start with a naturally-aspirated version of the Hemi V8 working up around 550 horsepower. Healthy doses of aluminum and carbon fiber would restrain the car's weight, on top of the weight loss from swapping an iron V10 for an aluminum V8. SRT could tart up the horsepower with a few performance trims, before a supercharged V8 with 700-plus horsepower arrives at some point after launch. The mag also suspects the initial offering will be a convertible, the hardtop appearing "a few years after launch," which could coincide with the more powerful engine. A row-your-own shifter will sit between the seats.

Fiat Chrysler halts European production as coronavirus hits demand

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is halting production for two weeks at most of its European plants to help protect staff against the coronavirus pandemic and adjust to a slump in demand, the Italian-American carmaker said on Monday. Italy has been the European country worst hit by the crisis and the first to enforce a nationwide lockdown, which has now been replicated by Spain and, to a lesser extent, by France as the virus sweeps through the continent. With all non essential services closed, including car dealers, and people forced home except for strict working needs, many forecast a heavy fall in car sales in March. FCA — which according to analyst estimates produces around 25% of its vehicles in Europe — said the suspensions through March 27 would allow it "to effectively respond to the interruption in market demand by ensuring the optimization of supply." Ferrari, meanwhile, said it closed its two plants until March 27. Ferrari said it had so far ensured production continuity, and it already implemented all the health measures decided by the Italian government at the two sites, in hometown Maranello and in Modena. But it was "now experiencing the first serious supply chain issues, which no longer allow for continued production." Marco Opipari, an analyst at Fidentiis, said a few weeks of closures was not a big problem in an over-supplied European auto industry and lost production could be recovered later on. "The real problem is on the demand side, people are not buying cars now, and sales volumes are expected to be very bad in March, with a real impact on automakers' earnings," he said. FCA said in a statement that production for its FCA Italy and luxury Maserati units would stop for two weeks, extending a temporary closure period already planned for some Italian facilities. Affected plants are Melfi, Pomigliano, Cassino, Mirafiori, Grugliasco and Modena in Italy, Kragujevac in Serbia and Tychy in Poland. The FIOM union said FCA's decision was "necessary". The carmaker said the freeze would help it to resume activity promptly once market conditions allow it. "The group is working with its supply base and business partners to be ready to enable our manufacturing operations to deliver previously planned total levels of production despite the suspension when market demand returns," it said.