2018 Widebody Hellcat Challenger

It’s obvious that I’m a huge fan of Challengers.  When they came out with the new Hellcat in 2015, I was really excited.  Then I saw the car and lost my excitement.  I drove one and it was all I hoped it would be, but I was very disappointed in the looks.  The only real way to tell that the car was a Hellcat was to look for the little badge on the side of the car.  Other than that, I thought it looked like a 6-cylinder car.  A car as bad as this should look the part, and it just didn’t.

I was at the 2017 U.S. National drag races in Indiana when I first saw the Dodge Demon.  Now this was a car that looked mean!  I had a chance to buy one from a dealer I knew, but I was a little leary about how streetable the car would be.  I passed on the car.

When Dodge announced that they were going to make a wide-body Hellcat, I knew that I was on the right track.  It had the same mean look as the Demon, but was a very streetable car.  I quickly put one on order in October, 2017.

After that, I waited, and waited, and waited.  There was a huge problem with Dodge delivering the wide-body cars, and after a lot of frustration, I cancelled my order in June of 2018.  I figured I wouldn’t be getting the car.  After that, I ordered a new 2019 Z06 Corvette, which I was to take delivery of in August.

I was on the road heading to the Chryslers at Carlisle car show about a week before I was supposed to pick up my Corvette when I got a call from the Dodge dealer.  He told me that my car had finally arrived, and that if I was still interested in it, I could have it.  I told him to give me 24 hours, and I’d let him know.

Not that I really needed the car since I had the Corvette coming, but I told him I’d take it.  I had the car sent to my builder in Florida and had him re-do the paint and put on a Demon style hood.  I’ve never regretted the decision.  I love the looks of this car and I keep it in Michigan for my summers when I’m there.

Bill Sefton
Bill Sefton
Bill Sefton, Chicago native, and passionate car collector. Currently retired, but still involved in the car collection community. Reach out, happy to connect!