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Dodge Charger Pursuit takes Tesla interior approach

A police car's computer is just as integral to its duties as a set of lights and sirens. The popular approach for these systems is to grab something like a Panasonic Toughbook laptop, add a big, bulky tray to hold it, and use this inelegant setup for running plates and doing all the other things a cop needs to do while on the road. The downside, besides simple aesthetics, is that this arrangement robs the officer's shotgun-riding partner from legroom. Dodge, though, has come up with a far more elegant and functional solution. Taking a page out of Tesla and Volvo's book, Dodge has replaced the five-inch UConnect display and laptop mount in the Charger Pursuit police car with an enormous 12.1-inch, portrait-format touchscreen display. Called, UConnect 12.1, the new system doesn't do away with the old fashioned computer outright. Instead it moves the bulky unit to the trunk, where it can connect to the display via an ethernet cable. This is good for multiple reasons. First, there are no pricey installation or upfitting charges, like there are for most laptop carriages. Secondly, the plug-and-play nature of the new UConnect system won't require the department to buy new laptops. And third, there's no need to retrain officers, since the only thing that's really changing is the input. While the Charger Pursuit will continue to offer redundant audio and HVAC controls, the 12.1-inch display can, at the press of a "button" split to display Fiat Chrysler's familiar 8.4-inch display. Make one more tap on the screen, and the police-issue laptop can be managed through the full touchscreen. The touchscreen will also display a menu bar at the top of the page, which can easily be edited by officers. All it takes is a simple drag and drop from the application menu to the top of the display. According to Dodge, the touchscreen will even play nice when its operator is wearing gloves. "As America's high-performance police vehicle, Dodge Charger Pursuit is going big for 2016, offering a massive, Uconnect touchscreen system that streamlines a law enforcement officer's computer system with our easy-to-use Uconnect system – on an all-new laptop-sized 12.1-inch touchscreen display," said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge and SRT's president and CEO.

Dodge could resurrect the ACR nameplate on a track-hungry Challenger

Dodge will reportedly celebrate the Challenger's 50th birthday by introducing a track-focused variant of the coupe that will resurrect the American Club Racer (ACR) nameplate. It will arrive as a cocktail of the automaker's best race-bred parts, including bits and pieces sourced from the defunct Viper. The Challenger ACR will be presented as a follow-up to the sold-out Challenger Demon available during the 2018 model year. While Dodge developed the 840-horsepower Demon for drag racing, it's designing the ACR to tackle America's windiest road courses, according to anonymous sources who spoke to website Mopar Insiders. It will need to take a turn, not just go really fast in a straight line. To that end, Dodge will give its popular muscle car more downforce by adding a full body kit that will include a huge adjustable rear wing shaped like the one fitted to the Viper ACR. The racer will be based on the Widebody variant of the Challenger, which handles considerably better than its narrow-bodied sibling, and it will rely on composite materials like carbon fiber to keep weight in check. In other words, it will receive more extreme modifications than the Challenger SRT8 ACR that Dodge introduced during the 2011 SEMA show but never approved for production. If this configuration sounds familiar, it's likely because the carmaker sponsors an independent team named Wesley Motorsports, which races a Hellcat Redeye all over America. It features an adjustable suspension provided by Blistein, slick Toyo tires, and a supercharged, 797-horsepower V8. The Challenger ACR described by Mopar Insiders sounds a lot like the one Wesley Motorsports regularly enters in hill climbs and time attack competitions (pictured). Coincidence? It's too early to tell for sure. Dodge hasn't commented on the report, and it hasn't announced what it has in store for the Challenger's 50th anniversary. The original Challenger made its debut in late 1969, and it arrived in showrooms during the 1970 model year, so Dodge will need to unwrap its surprise before the start of the 2021 model year to keep it timely. Expect an announcement during the first half of 2020. While pricing information remains a mystery, Mopar Insiders added the Challenger ACR will come standard with only a driver's sat. Buyers will be able to add a passenger seat for $1.

2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody First Drive Review | Son of a beast

PORTLAND, Maine — They told us the Hellcat Redeye Widebody is a "Hellcat that's been possessed by a Demon." But what I'm telling myself is, Save it for the track. I hadn't even put the pedal all the way to the floor, and the world around me had warped in my peripheral vision. I peeled my skull from the headrest and contemplated the supercharger under the double-snorkel hood in front of me force-feeding air to the's 6.2-liter Hemi V8, producing a hair under 800 horsepower. With my stomach returning to its usual place, I tried to summon the patience not to roast the tires again. Relax, enjoy the drive, explore the car, and save the rest for the track. I tried to restrain myself from adding to the many strips of rubber already smeared across the hilly, meandering roads between Portland, Maine and Club Motorsports across the state line in New Hampshire. But then there's always another stop sign, and something possesses me to misbehave again as I pull away. The 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye includes a number of borrowed features that helped the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon slap me in the back of the helmet back at Lucas Oil Raceway. It has the same displacement Hemi with a 2.7-liter supercharger providing 14.5 PSI of boost. That pressure is thanks in part to the "Power Chiller," which diverts the A/C refrigerant to cool the air intake. It offers the torque reserve system for explosive launches, as well as the strengthened driveshaft to handle it all. It won't do a wheelie, but it'll scream in your face as it hurls you straight to jail. Compared to the standard Hellcat, it gets a higher top speed of 203 miles per hour, and quarter mile times reduced by a precious tenth of a second (11.1 seconds at 131 mph for the standard Redeye, and 10.8 seconds at 131 mph for the Redeye Widebody). That said, Dodge has ensured that Demon reigns supreme in the Challenger hierarchy. For one thing, the Demon has 840 horsepower and 770 pound-feet of torque, compared to the Redeye's 797 horsepower and 707 pound-feet. The Demon's suspension is specifically tuned for the weight transfer characteristics of drag racing, and can lift its front wheels off the ground if you nail the launch with the narrow tires on it. Also, while the Redeye does have line lock to let the rear wheels spin while braking the front calipers, it doesn't get the Demon's transbrake to keep the car locked into position as throttle is applied for launch.