The combination of the uniquely-tuned steering and suspension systems, coupled with the wider wheels and tires, make the Challenger R/T Scat Pack much more exacting when carving the corners of the road course. There is less body roll in the corners, the car sticks better while in those corners and the Widebody Scat Pack gets in and out of turns harder, thanks to the big tires.
Next, it was time for me to hit the track with the 2019 Challenger Hellcat Redeye, and after spending a few hours driving one on the road, I was really excited to hit the track where I could exercise all 797 angry horses without the worry of getting arrested.
While many people who have never driven a modern Dodge Challenger on a road course will dispute this, the Hellcat handles remarkably well for a 4,500-pound car of this size. When you add the features of the Widebody package, the Challenger offers stunning cornering abilities for a grand touring coupe like this.
In every way, the Redeye Widebody handles like the Hellcat Widebody, with the adaptive dampers doing a great job of keeping the huge tires on the ground as the car roars around the road course.
The Redeye Widebody Challenger turns in and grips the corners well, with the toughest part being traction on the climb out of the corners, but when the 305-millimeter-wide Pirellis get ahold of the surface, the Redeye “flattens the hills”. With some cars, the huge hills of Club Motorsports would be a labor, but the supercharged, 797-horsepower Hemi blasted up the hills without breaking a sweat.
Aside from the stunning acceleration up the hills and out of the corners, the Redeye is a blast to throw around the sweeping turns of the road course, showing that Mopar muscle cars aren’t just built for the drag strip. Mind you, this isn’t a car that is going to challenge lightweight supercars on a tight road course, but on a track with a speed bias, the Redeye will hold its own with a great many cars that are given far more credit for being great-handling cars than the Dodge Challenger.
Finally, at the end of the day, SRT engineer Jim Wilder, who was involved in the development of both the Demon and the Redeye, took me for a ride around the track in the 797-horsepower machine. Unfortunately, we were running out of gas, but in the video below, you can see how hard the experienced driver hits the corners.
Also, before we all headed back to the hotel, Wilder did a smoky burnout in the new Redeye for us all to enjoy.
"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.
