Car Guy Magazine Car Guy Magazine Issue 215 | Page 42

Hold My Beer and Watch This!
WORDS Jim Sherman
Okay so this story doesn’t involve
the consumption of alcohol, sorry.
But what it does involve is a few days
with a “redneck rocket” the Dodge
Challenger Scat Pack. A certain friend
of mine is a raving fan of the new
Chrysler product line so I solicited
her completely bias opinion when I
found out I was going to get one to
try out. Basically the conversation was
one-sided (note to self make sure she
doesn’t read this) but what I got out
of it was that Dodge makes no apologies for the Challenger it is a raw and
unbridled slap in the face. American
muscle cars have come a long way
only to end up where they started
powerful, big and bulky.
This one in particular was the 485
hp 6.4L Hemi Scat Pack, a 6 speed
manual transmission rear drive beast
of a car. Just like the Shaker Challenger we had over the summer this one
sways from side to side and up and
down like a land yacht. Tires are way
too narrow and brakes are way too
small and now I get this thing in the
winter. Its simple physics: 33 Degrees
+ Rain + Challenger = Wheel Spinning
Mayhem for that matter any condition + Challenger = Wheel Spinning
Mayhem.
“And in this corner weighing in at
just over two tons!”

40 CarGuyMagazine.com

Published curb weight for the 2015
Challenger is 4200lbs. In 1970 the 1st
generation Challenger was only 3700lbs.
The Scat Pack back then was not a performance package rather an exclusive group.
It included:
1: A high-performance parts catalog
2: Wallet identification card
3: An embroidered jacket patch
4: A hard-nosed bumper sticker
5: 40 page guide to auto racing
So over the last 45 years the car has
gained at least 500lbs and lost the “hardnosed” bumper sticker. That’s disappointing. It is a fun car at it’s core. It’s loud and
in your face. So loud in fact that on a cold
morning if you start it in your neighborhood you will wake up just about everyone, unless you live next to a cemetery and
even then.
Start the car rev it up and go have an
absolute blast. Just remember to plan your
braking like its raining and plan the turns
like you’re in a truck. The acceleration in
this thing is pure exhilaration braking and
cornering is absolute terror. Now I’m not
saying that it’s any more or less dangerous than any other muscle car I’m just saying keep your head on straight and focus
when you start to push this car or it will bite
you in the…wallet.
Test Notes:
Miles: 475 (front wheels)
Miles: 590 (rear wheels)
MPG: 18
Moving Violations: 0
Near Death Experiences: 4