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| The 2020 Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack Plus. |
For those of you who have only heard the term on nature walks, "scat" has other meanings, including a form of jazz singing, and the slang usage that applies here, to go quickly.
And that is the entire reason for the 2020 Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack Plus to exist. Going quickly. That engine? It's a 6.4-liter Hemi V8. 485 horsepower. 475 pounds per foot of torque. Zero to 60? Car and Driver says it took them 4.1 seconds. I'll trust them on that because putting your foot to the floor in one of these is like waving red meat under the nose of a sleeping lion. All of a sudden, there's a monstrous roar and the rest is a blur.
This car is really nothing short of a miracle. The 1969-70 "Scat Pack" was supposed to be the end of an era. Insurance surcharges, emission controls and the rising cost of fossil fuel all conspired to kill the muscle car by the early-mid 70s. And yet, here it is. Admittedly, performance cars of all types and brands have blossomed in the past 20 years. But it's been Dodge that has managed to take one of the last remaining old-school four-door sedans and turn it into a fire-breathing monster.
The "392 HEMI" badge is a throwback of its own---to the days when engines were measured in cubic inches instead of liters. And it's also an example of how far we've come. In Scat Pack One, the Hemi was 426 cubic inches. It made only 425 horsepower.
The closest engine in terms of size back then was the 383. And that was only good for 330 horsepower. Both those are gross horsepower figures---net wasn't imposed until later, so lop another 75-80 horsepower off the 426 and 383---maybe 350 and 265. That makes a real-deal 485 horsepower out of 392 cubic inches a very big thing.
It also makes the 2020 Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack Plus a full second quicker to 60 than the legendary 1970 Hemi, even though the 2020 is the heavier car. And, thanks in part to an eight-speed automatic transmission with four drive modes (Automatic, Custom, Sport and Track), the Charger gets an EPA-estimated 15 miles per gallon city, 24 highway.
The 1970 Charger Hemi? Nine miles per gallon. Maybe eight. Ten with a tailwind.
Plus, the Charger (and most other muscle cars from 50 years ago) was good for pretty much one thing---speed in a straight line. The 2020 Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack Plus handles. It stops. It's not my favorite machine for carving up twisty roads in the Sierra foothills, but that's more about having too much power on tap and too little space in which to indulge. The suspension and steering bits are spot on.
The other remarkable thing is price. $39,995 is where it starts. That includes the Hemi, the 8-speed automatic, and all this:
Line Lock Launch Control
Launch Assist
Anti-Spin Differential Rear Axle
High Performance Suspension
Brembo® 4-Piston Fixed Caliper Brakes
Active Exhaust
Advanced Multistage Front Air Bags
Supplemental Front Seat Side Air Bags
Supplemental Side-Curtain Front and Rear Air Bags
ParkView® Rear Back-Up Camera
Electronic Stability Control
Tire Pressure Monitoring Display
Remote-Start System (N/A w/Manual Transmission)
Tire Service Kit
180-MPH Primary Speedometer
8-Way Power Driver Seat
Heated Front Seats
Performance Steering Wheel
Heated Steering Wheel
Leather-Wrapped Shift Knob
DUB Plate Interior Accents
SRT® Performance Pages
Steering Wheel Mounted Shift Control
SRT® Configurable Drive Modes
Uconnect® 4C with 8.4-Inch Display
SiriusXM® with 1-Year Radio Sub Call 800-643-2112
SiriusXM Guardian™ Connected Services w/1-Yr Trial
6-Premium Alpine® Speakers
Apple CarPlay®
Google Android Auto™
4G LTE Wi-Fi Hot Spot
Media Hub (2 USB, Aux)
A/C Auto Temperature Control w/Dual-Zone Control
Front and Rear LED Map Pockets
Our tester also had some extra-cost options:
Scat Pack Widebody - 21V ($6,000)
Widebody Package
Brembo 6-Piston Fixed Front Caliper Brakes
Performance Shift Indicator
Body-Color Fender Flares
Leather Flat-Bottom Steering Wheel
Widebody Competition Suspension
Adaptive Damping Suspension
305/35ZR20 (107Y) All-Season Performance Tires
Pirelli Brand Tires
20-Inch x 11.0-Inch Devil’s Rim Aluminum Wheels
2DV Plus Group ( $1,995)
Scat Pack Logo Nappa/Alcantara Seat
Ventilated Front Seats
Black-Edged Premium Floormats
Rear Seat Armrest with Storage Cupholder
Illuminated Rear Cupholders
Automatic-Dimming Exterior Driver Mirror
Blind-Spot Indicator with Memory/Power/Heat Mirrors
Premium-Stitched Dash Panel
Power Front Driver and Passenger Seats
Heated Second-Row Seats
4-Way Power Lumbar Adjust Driver / Passenger Seats
Driver & Passenger Lower LED Lamps
Front Overhead LED Lighting
Exterior Mirrors Courtesy Lamps
Memory for Radio, Driver Seat and Exterior Mirrors
Automatic Adjust in Reverse Ext Mirrors
Power Tilt / Telescope Steering Column
Blind-Spot and Cross-Path Detection
Driver Confidence Group ($795)
Bi-Function HID Projector Headlamps
305/35ZR20 Front and Rear 3-Season Tires ($695)
Red Brake Calipers ($595)
With $1,495 destination charge, the bottom line on the window sticker reads $51,570. That is a screaming deal and only a few hundred dollars more than the Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack Widebody that we reviewed in late 2018.
Our take? Each is better than the other. Depends on whether you need two doors or four. Now, scat.
