Here’s a question that not too many car enthusiasts ask themselves: what’s the best kind of Dodge Charger derivative if you’re aiming for a Nurburgring hot lap? The answer has to be the Charger Scat Pack Widebody. And this is no hypothetical trip, as we’ll actually get to see the big brute throwing itself at the infamous German toll road.
Modern American performance cars do have a bit of history with the Ring. Last decade, Chevrolet took the Camaro ZL1—in 1LE track trim—to the track, setting a 7:16.04 lap time that put it deep inside Porsche 911 territory. Then there was the unofficial Dodge Viper ACR effort. Powered by a dealer, the now-retired snake blitzed the Nordschleife in 7:01.3, rivaling supercars that were twice its price or more.
Well, the adventure we have here is much simpler. The owner of a Charger Scat Pack widebody wanted to see how his 4,385 lbs (1,900 kg), 198.4-inch (5,039 mm) machine could handle the 12.9-mile (20.8 km) course open to tourists.
The man wisely placed the American super-sedan in the hands of Nurburgring settler Misha Charoudin. We’re talking about a vlogger who has spent countless hours lapping the Ring in machines ranging from amusement rides like this one (how does a 1994 Chevrolet Impala SS Ring lap sound?) to race cars, as his YouTube channel can attest.
As stated in the intro, with considerably less muscle to handle compared to the Hellcat and more tire than the “standard body” members of the range, this Scat Pack Widebody seems to make the perfect choice, but that’s a very particular angle we’re using.
Sure, the owner might’ve fitted the four-door with aluminum control arms at the back and all-round Eibach lowering springs, but the Pirelli P Zero tires (305/35 R20) are all-season units. So (surprise-surprise), they won’t enjoy having to handle all that mass under braking.
Speaking of which, the enthusiasts also changed the factory brake pads of the Brembo system with a set of ceramic units. And since this Charger normally spends its days outside the track, the aim of the aftermarket pads was to generate less brake dust rather than increase fading resistance or reduce stopping times. In other words, they too will hate the task. Still, after seeing the poor brakes of the Ram TRX having to deal with the Nurburgring, nothing can truly scare us, at least not while outside the car in question.
So, how did things go down?
For the reasons stated above, Misha kept the Charger Scat Pack below the limit, while using the Track driving mode meant the traction control did kick in at times.
However, this didn’t prevent the naturally aspirated HEMI brute, with its 485 hp and its 475 lb-ft (644 Nm) from getting slightly airborne at 150 mph (240 km/h). Sliding? Sure, that’s how it all starts (by the way, here’s Japanese drifting legend Keiichi Tsuchiya sliding the 797 hp Challenger Hellcat Redeye) .
So, while the Charger Nurbugring lap held the owner at the edge of his seat (the man’s expressions are priceless), it had a somewhat similar effect on us—if anything, we respect that Charger even more after this demonstration. In fact, we’ll go out on a limb here and say we expect the shenanigan to work its magic on you too.
