Challenger Hellcat Widebody From a Lifelong Mopar Lover’s View

Cruising Woodward

My first few days with the Octane Red Widebody Hellcat Challenger were spent driving it around down for my normal routine—just faster. However, come the first weekend with the car, we headed to Woodward Ave to show off one of the first of its type in the world and one of the only Widebody cars on the road in the Detroit area.

For those who aren’t familiar with Metro Detroit and Woodward Avenue, the road isn’t just known for the “Dream Cruise.” On any given Friday or Saturday night during the warmer weather months, Woodward is packed with high performance cars with even more cars lining the many parking lots along the fabled avenue. The crowd is obviously heavy with American muscle cars, but Woodward gets its fair share of high performance Japanese cars and European exotics making that area the most interesting place in the area to cruise on the weekends.

Even though the cruising crowd has scores of new Challengers including lots of Hellcat cars, the red Widebody test car began drawing attention as soon as we pulled onto Woodward. Countless people rolled up next to us to ask about the car and get pictures. Many people wanted to see the Widebody boogie down the street and some of them got what they wanted before we pulled into the first parking area.

Within literal seconds of being parked, there was a massive crowd around the car. People were lining up to get close-up pictures of the flares, the unique wheels and tires, the new 3D badges and the wicked illuminated headlight design with the integrated Hellcat logo. After spending some time in that lot, we moved to another and it was the same thing there – and in the rest of the parking lots that we visited that night.

At every stoplight, people in cars around us and those on foot along the side of Woodward Ave were taking pictures and asking questions. As people around us drooled over the gorgeous, dark metallic red Mopar muscle car, it occurred to me how lucky I was to be the guy behind the wheel. Twenty years ago, I dreamed of someday owning a badass Mopar muscle car, but thanks to my job, I was able to be one of the first people in the world to live with the new Widebody Hellcat Challenger.

I spent many nights cruising Woodward with the Widebody Challenger, taking it from lot to lot and making sure that I could show the car to as many people as possible. On the day of the actual Dream Cruise, I took the car to the Modern Street Hemi Shootout area, where it was featured alongside a black Widebody car that had been delivered that morning. I also visited car shows all over the Metro Detroit area during those two wonderful weeks and everywhere I went, I was the guy driving the never-before-seen Widebody Hellcat Challenger.

The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody is a remarkable muscle car, but the time that I spent in one of the first of its kind on the street is an experience that I will never forget.

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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