Dodge Charger to get major revamp for 2020

CHELSEA, Mich. — It's rare if not unprecedented for an automaker to invest serious cash into a vehicle whose bones are old enough to vote. But the Dodge Charger is getting a significant revamp for 2020.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is claiming the new 2020 Charger Hellcat Widebody will be the "most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world." FCA said the Hemi-engined Hellcat will reach 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and have a top speed of 196 mph.

The car, whose platform is derived from an old Mercedes-Benz that migrated to Dodge during the DaimlerChrysler era, packs a 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V-8 rated at 707 hp and 650 pound-feet of torque. That's the same basic powertrain from the Dodge Challenger Hellcat, also a survivor from the DaimlerChrysler era. An 8-speed automatic transmission is standard.

The wide-body treatment includes huge fender flares that add 3.5 inches of width over 20-inch wheels, which are also 11 inches wide. The car also gets new front and rear fascias.

Dodge engineers added six-piston Brembo brakes with two-piece rotors and a Hellcat-specific three-mode suspension system that uses Bilstein adaptive shocks.

No prices have been announced, but dealers will be able to order the car this fall and deliveries are scheduled to start early next year.

"People say, 'no one wants cars anymore.' I would tell you that the 40,000 people who bought a Dodge Charger so far this year would probably agree, because to them, the Charger isn't just a car," said Tim Kuniskis, head of passenger cars for FCA in North America.

"The Charger's reach extends beyond body-style practicalities and it can't be defined by average industry shifts," he said.

The wide-body appearance package also will be available on a lower-powered Charger, the Scat Pack model.

Dodge Charger's U.S. sales fell 4.2 percent to 26,716 vehicles through May.

FCA assembles the Charger at its plant at its Brampton plant in Canada, where an FCA spokesman said production will remain "status quo."