While other carmakers are promoting mobility and ride-sharing, the go-fast rascals at the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Street and Racing Technology (SRT) shop are busy working on ways to reduce the time it takes to hustle their vehicles from point A to point B.
The 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 is the latest example. Doubling down on the regular Challenger R/T Scat Pack, if the word regular applies to anything with a Hemi V8 under the hood, the limited edition 1320 adds some traction-enhancing tweaks, many of them adapted from the Dodge Demon.
The package includes FCA’s 8-speed Torqueflite automatic (the standard Challenger Scat Pack is equipped with a 6-speed manual); a TransBrake, which locks the transmission output shaft to hold the car stationary for a standing start; Torque Reserve, managing fuel flow and spark advance, to maximize launch; half shafts with heavy duty splines; line lock, allowing the driver to lock the front brakes, while spinning the rear wheels to put heat in the tires; and Nexen SUR4G Drag Spec 275/40R drag racing radial tires on 20-by-9-inch forged alloy wheels.
Other mechanical elements include a limited slip rear differential; adjustable dampers; Brembo high-performance brakes; and launch assist, with wheel speed sensors to detect and eliminate wheel hop.
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Seat deletes
Like the Demon, the 1320 package eliminates the rear and front passenger seats, paring 114 pounds from curb weight. However, the owner can restore one or both seats for $1 each. And aside from the seat delete, the 1320 Challenger comes with a full complement of comfort and convenience features, including FCA’s 8.4-inch touchscreen with an app for the various launch control elements.
The engine is the same 392-cubic-inch Hemi V8 that propels the regular Challenger R/T: 485 horsepower, 475 lb-ft of torque. With the 8-speed automatic, the Scat Pack Challenger covers a quarter-mile in 12 seconds.
With the 1320 package—1,320 feet is a quarter-mile—the Challenger sprints through the timing lights in 11.7 seconds at 115 mph. The SRT team says that time makes the 1320 the fastest naturally aspirated street legal muscle car available.
The standard Challenger R/T Scat Pack carries an MSRP of $40,390 (some $11,000 less than the Challenger SRT). The 1320 package adds $3,995, plus $1,595 for the 8-speed automatic, described by Dodge as a “mandatory” option. In terms of bang for the buck, this works out to $1,863.33 for each tenth of a second. That may seem steep. But in drag racing, a hundredth of a second can be the difference between winning and being an also-ran. A tenth of a second is just this side of an eternity.
Dealers will begin taking orders for the Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 later this year, with deliveries due to begin in the first quarter of 2019.
