AJ’s “Badass Friday” Car of the Day: 2015 Dodge Challenger R/T “Scat Pack”

AJ’s “Badass Friday” Car of the Day: 2015 Dodge Challenger R/T “Scat Pack”

Car:Dodge Challenger R/T “Scat Pack”

Year: 2015

What makes it special: The Challenger name was used for three different generations of automobiles, two of those being pony cars, produced by Dodge. However, the first use of the Challenger name by Dodge was in 1959 for marketing a version of the full-sized Coronet Silver Challenger. From 1970 to 1974, the first generation Dodge Challenger pony car was built using Chrysler’s E-platform in hardtop and convertible body styles sharing major components with the Plymouth Barracuda. From 1978 to 1983, it was a badge engineered Mitsubishi compact car. The third and current generation is a pony car that was introduced in early 2008 originally as a rival to the evolved fifth generation Ford Mustang and the fifth generation Chevrolet Camaro.

What made it famous: The name “Scat Pack” was dug up from the days of Mopar glory, used to denote the best Dodge’s in one group. To qualify as a “Scat Pack,” the model had to run a quarter-mile in 14 seconds or under. It included the Charger R/T, Dart GTS and Super Bee, which is where the angry cartoon bee logo originates from. The Scat Pack falls in-between the R/T and SRT models. It can be considered an “SRT-Light” because you get the SRT’s larger 6.4-liter Hemi V8 with 485 hp and 475 pound-feet of torque, plus attractive exhaust, appearance package and Brembo brakes, but not the SRT’s adjustable suspension of the larger six-piston Brembo brakes or a few other goods. It’s backed by your choice of a 6-speed manual or 8-speed automatic transmission. The 2015 Scat Pack had a 0-60 test time around 4.5 seconds and a quarter-mile test time in the low-12’s.

Why I would want one: Actually, have one. That’s mine in the photo. After wanting a Challenger since their 2008 model debut, I finally got one in 2017.

Fun fact: For the 2019 model year, Dodge released the Challenger Redeye with 797 horsepower as well as the Scat Pack 1320 with 485 horsepower 6.4L Chrysler Hemi Engine.