Dodge Unleashes Two New Drag Cars

Dodge//SRT engineers are regulars at the drag strip and well known for creating the record-setting Challenger SRT Demon. Now, once again, they are using their experience to create a new street-to-strip drag car. The result: the drag-oriented, street-legal 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320, unveiled today in Denver prior to the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Powered by Mopar, taking place July 20-22 at Bandimere Speedway.

Dodge also unveiled a new, wickedly quick, Mopar-powered National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Funny Car version of the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. The funny car will make its competition debut this weekend at the same event.

Challenger R/T Scat Pack
Named for the quarter-mile distance (1,320 feet), the Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 is powered by the 392 HEMI V-8 that delivers 485 horsepower and 475 lb.-ft. of torque and is mated to the quick-shifting TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission with class-exclusive TransBrake. It is equipped with specially developed Nexen SUR4G Drag Spec 275/40R20 street-legal drag radial tires that deliver maximum grip and offer repeatable quarter-mile times.

With a quarter-mile elapsed time of 11.7 seconds at 115 mph, the showroom-stock 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 is the fastest naturally aspirated, street-legal muscle car available, according to Dodge.
Bracket racing is one of the most popular forms of drag racing. It challenges competitors to race the clock, as well as each other, rewarding launch skill, consistency and racing within the preselected time target without “busting the bracket” by going too fast.

To that base, Dodge//SRT engineers added drag specific components and technologies to deliver a street-to-strip value package while producing quick launches when the Christmas tree goes green. Features include:

• TorqueFlite 8HP70 eight-speed automatic transmission—required equipment for the R/T Scat Pack 1320, replacing the standard manual transmission on the Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack
• TransBrake—Locks the output shaft of the automatic transmission to hold the car stationary before a standing start
• Torque Reserve—Works in conjunction with the TransBrake by managing fuel flow to cylinders and controlling spark advance or retard to balance engine rpm and torque to maximize power delivery and launch performance
• Nexen SUR4G Drag Spec 275/40R20 street-legal drag radials—All-new specially developed tires that deliver exceptional grip at the drag strip and on the street. Preproduction testing shows that the Nexen tires demonstrate consistent run times with minimal burnout preparation at the drag strip
• SRT-tuned three-mode Adaptive Damping Suspension (ADS) electronically retuned for the Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320. Includes Drag Mode that, when engaged, optimizes weight transfer to the rear for best launch traction
• Standard interior configuration has driver’s seat only to help reduce weight by approximately 114 pounds; front passenger seat and rear seat are available individually as $1 options
• Performance-tuned asymmetrical limited-slip differential with 3.09 final drive
• Extreme-duty 41-spline rear axle half shafts adopted from the Challenger SRT Demon
• Line Lock—Engages the front brakes to hold the Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 stationary, but leaves the rear wheels free for a burnout to heat up and clean the rear tires
• Launch Assist—Uses wheel speed sensors to watch for driveline-damaging wheel hop at launch and, in milliseconds, modifies the engine torque to regain full grip
• Launch Control—Controls tire slip during straight-line acceleration
• Low Gloss Black 20 x 9.5-inch aluminum-forged wheels with knurled bead seats to minimize tire slip on the wheel
• Brembo High-performance Brake Package with four-piston calipers
• 8.4-inch Uconnect touchscreen that enables the driver to engage Launch Control and Line Lock within the Performance Control app. It also lets the driver select modes, including Drag Mode and Adaptive Damping Suspension, while working with the steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles to activate the TransBrake

Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Funny Car driver Matt Hagan will be the first to harness the new 2019 Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat NHRA Funny Car, a 10,000-plus horsepower beast. The two-time Funny Car World champion will debut his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat at the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Powered by Mopar. Hagan’s DSR teammates, Jack Beckman, Ron Capps and Tommy Johnson Jr., will make the transition to the new Funny Car body during the 2018 season.

“This new Funny Car body is something that Mopar and Dodge//SRT have put a lot of work and support behind, from R&D to wind tunnel testing,” said Hagan, who has spent all 10 years of his drag-racing career behind the wheel of a Mopar-powered Dodge Charger. “We improved on the body design. It was already a great design, a great body. But now, we’re going to have a little more downforce, a little more traction on these racetracks and it will be a huge performance advantage. We will be able to press harder with more downforce on the nose, which translates into huge amounts of downforce on the run.”

The new 2019 Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat NHRA Funny Car pushes the envelope in importing as many visual cues and characteristics from the supercharged, 707-horsepower production Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, according to Dodge.
The new body features major design changes in three key areas: the front end, bodysides and burst panel placement.

At the front, the shape of the nose has been tweaked and a new splitter, built of carbon fiber and Kevlar like the rest of the Funny Car body, has been added. The splitter substantially mimics the look and shape of the production vehicle’s splitter while generating greater downforce to help plant the Funny Car to the track, according to Dodge.

The bodyside scallops have been redesigned to more closely identify with the production Hellcat while also enhancing on-track function and performance. The deeper character lines provide greater visual ties to the street version of the Hellcat, while also helping to mitigate the body burn common on all Funny Cars due to the close positioning of the exhaust headers, according to Dodge.

The location of the burst panel on the hood has also been reworked. The panel is now centered over the top of the engine to more efficiently release energy and pressure in the event of engine issues, a common occurrence in race cars that are pushed to the razor’s edge of performance.

A production Charger SRT Hellcat was used as a template to create the unique vehicle graphics. Front end graphics recreate the distinctive Hellcat grille and badging, and decal markers also call out the air extractors and hood scoop of the production model.

The birth of the Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car body featured a process that began more than a year ago, and stretched from the race shops of DSR and Don Schumacher Motorsports (DSM) in Indianapolis, to the research and development facilities at FCA US headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, to a drag strip in Ohio, according to Dodge.

Mopar and Dodge//SRT engineers worked in unison with the DSR team at each and every step of the process, from creation of the original body mold to wind tunnel testing to on-track vetting. The NHRA was also closely involved in the process, with Mopar, Dodge//SRT and DSR working with the sanctioning body to ensure the new Funny Car was in compliance with all specifications and guidelines.

The new Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car body replaces the current generation Mopar Dodge Charger R/T race car.