You may be thinking, a Dodge Challenger is not an import. I would say it’s a German platform with an engine and transmission built in Mexico and assembled in Canada. That aside, here is my F8 Green 2021 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Widebody with manual transmission.
I’ve been craving a RWD V8 powered toy and over the past few years, I started to lean towards the Dodge boys.
Why a Dodge? Going back to my childhood, I grew up a Mopar guy. This predates my love of imports and as much as I still love my imports, I felt the need to return to my roots.
I test drove the Challenger in 2020 as well as a Mustang GT. The Mustang is a great car and I love the high revving Coyote engine. However, I didn’t love it like I loved the Challenger. I wasn’t looking for a corner carver, just something to really enjoy.
Thinking of my childhood, Loving Mopars and building models of them, The challenger has that 60’s/70’s vibe that the Mustang and Camaro do not have. Between the styling and the color options, I just had to go with the Challenger. Even the exhaust has that old muscle car tone.
For the sake of hauling my family, I did strongly consider the Charger. I love it as much as the Challenger, but no manual transmission. A few years back, I had a Charger R/T as a rental car. I loved the 8 speed ZF transmission. If I felt that the Charger was the better option, I knew I would still enjoy the automatic.
In the end, I just had to hear the the rise and fall of the 6.4 L Hemi sound through the manual transmission. Challenger it is! We have other family haulers in our fleet!
Specs:
- 392 and a 6 Speed Manual
- Widebody
- 6 Piston Brembo upgrade
- Adaptive Damping Suspension
- 20×11 inch wheels
- 305 35 20 Pirelli tires
- Driver Convenience Package
- Carbon/Suede interior
- Plus Package
- Harmon Kardon Audio
I did mention that I wasn’t looking for a corner carver. I still had to give it a try!
The Scat Pack, and especially the widebody, makes it the sportiest version of the Challenger. I understand it has the stiffest front springs of any Challenger. How did it hold up at an autocross? Better than you would expect, but it’s definitely not a Miata.
For as large as the car is, it was still easy enough to maneuver through slaloms and tighter sections. The upgraded Pirellis are not up to the task. I had swapped the Brembo pads for less grabby Hawk Street HP 5.0’s and they weren’t up to the task. Beyond that, I think a proper set of tires and a more track suitable pad would make this an absolute blast at an autocross.
As I’ve already mentioned, I wanted a fun car to experience. The Challenger does that well. For autocrossing, I still have my Civic.
Overall, I’m really happy with the Challenger. It checks a lot of the right boxes. There are more refined and civilized cars out there but I just wasn’t interested!
