Nose Job: 2019 Dodge Charger Scat Pack Spied With New Nostrils

Like a bull who’s had enough of the matador and his capote de brega, the Dodge Charger has been spied flaring its nostrils. We saw this design flourish in a teaser shot distributed by the company for the 2019 Charger Hellcat, and it now shows up on the Scat Pack trim.

The Charger is currently offered in no fewer than 11 different trims that represent a steady and relentless upward march of power and tire-melting capabilities. The Scat Pack is number eight on the totem pole.

While the Hellcat model gets all the attention, it is this author’s belief the Scat Pack represents the best value in this hairy-chested lineup. Currently starting at a fiver under $40,000, the existing Charger R/T Scat Pack packs a 485 horsepower 6.4-liter V8 under its bulbous and scoop-filled hood.

An extra five grand nets buyers the Daytona 392 model, a car which adds leather seats and six-piston Brembos to the mix. The Hellcat is advertised at $67,995 and promises admission to the 700-horse and 200 mph clubs. At less than three-fifths the price of its Hellcat big brother, the Scat Pack car is the one I would buy with my own money.

Not that it would look much different, inside or out, than the 2012 Charger currently resting in my two-car garage. FCA has suggested a few interior “upgrades” will appear for 2019, likely in the form of new upholstery and dashboard trim options. Recall that no plan was laid out for the Dodge brand at Sergio’s big investor party on June 1st, so any speculation of what platform on which future Chargers and Challengers will rest is just that – speculation.

The nostril-ized grille is flanked by a set of LED headlamps that are marginally different than those found on the current car, though it’s hardly a sea of change. These year-to-year tweaks will be noted at the 2058 Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, surely. Until then, we’ll have to park new and old side-by-each to tell the difference.

Don’t expect much change between the fenders either, with 6.4L likely to return largely untouched by R&D dollars. There’s no reason to imagine the admittedly superb eight-speed automatic is going anywhere, either. At the top end of the Charger spectrum, there is a chance the Hellcat motor will be fettled to find a few more horses, thanks to development ideas born during the Demon’s reign of power. That kit could include a Drag Pack with the trans brake and fabulously-named Air Chiller. I’m setting the over/under at 730 horses.

Chargers have hovered just under 100,000 annual units since 2013, a couple of years after the company dressed it in new duds and ditched the PlaySkool interior. Rumours about the next-gen car have bounced from it being based on a Maserati to an Alfa platform to simply staying on its existing architecture.

[Images: Brian Williams/Spiedbilde]