VIDEO: Wrecked 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody looks like an organ donor

Stolen and crashed. This wrecked 2018 Dodge Challenger Hellcat Widebody landed in my sights at a Birmingham, Alabama wrecker auction.
I don't see many nearly new, $70,000 muscle machines at this no-reserve auction. This crashed cat, 1-of-1,876 Widebody Hellcat Challengers built in 2018, and 1-of-only 491 in the Pitch Black paint option, looked like a total loss. But I was hoping this modern muscle car still had a heartbeat. 

I lifted a blood-stained airbag on the driver's side to take a closer look at the damage inflicted by the wheel and tire that were shoved behind the door hinges and through the floor pan. This appeared to be a major front end collision. When a 4,500-plus vehicle collides with an object at speed it hammers the "hell"-cat out of itself. I hope whoever was driving survived and takes heed the next time they sit behind the wheel of a 707-horsepower beast. 

Airbags blown out everywhere inside the wrecked 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody.

Thick and thin
For what it's worth, the Widebody option adds 69-pounds and is a $6,000 markup over a standard slab sided 2018 Challenger Hellcat. By our calculations, that's $87 per pound of Widebody goodness. Is it worth it? The fender flares don't fare well in demolition duty. But, if looks could kill, we'd say this Hellcat died trying. 

The powerful 6.2 liter engine took the brunt of the crash on this 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody.

Beast underneath
That supercharged 707-hp engine is the only reason we're looking this thing over. Hellcats in stock trim are capable of 0-60 in 3.4 seconds. They can cover the quarter-mile in 11.8 seconds at 126 mph and can touch 200 mph at top speed. Yikes! That's a real speed demon.

Can you have too much horsepower? Me? No. But some people can't handle the responsibility. Horns start growing out of their head when the engine revs.

How fast can you afford to go? 
Mother Mopar will sell you the Hellcat crate engine for $18,000 out-the-door with a 3-year warranty. Also, popular wrecking yards sell low-mile Hellcat engines and 8-speed automatic transmission combos for around $25,000. That's a lot of cash! So, any would-be junkyard dog with a few bucks can seize the opportunity to bid and make some easy money flipping the drivetrain or build their own Hellcat hot rod. That's just what we were planning to do until the wrecker company yanked the car from the auction list. They said the Hellcat had been stolen. Some details with insurance and the owner would need to be dealt with before it could be sold. Doh!

I later found out that around 10 of these Hellcats have passed through this Alabama wrecker company since they were introduced for the 2015 model year. That's a low number, about 2 per year on average.


Thanks for watching
More wrecks and wreckage to come. And as always, more rust recovery by the Junkyard Life Rusty Gold Rescue Team! We are always hunting old cars and stories from characters like you. 

Jody Potter
— Junkyard Life: The Story Beneath the Rust

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Wrecked, black 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody has meaty fender flares. At least on the parts that were't destroyed.

Do you have a classic or muscle car barn find? Send us details and we’re on the way!  Send emails to Jody Potter at junkyardbull@gmail.com or Ron Kidd at Kidd403@bellsouth.net.