2016 Dodge Challenger: ten trims, from V-6 to Hellcat

This record's own dek describes 2016 as the year of ten trims from V-6 to Hellcat, the 392 HEMI Scat Pack Shaker, Plum Crazy's return, and a Hellcat supply squeeze that FCA answered by more than doubling production. This record's own overview states that Dodge called it the most complete Challenger lineup yet, running from the 305-hp Pentastar V-6 SXT through the R/T at 375 hp, the R/T Scat Pack and new 392 HEMI Scat Pack Shaker at 485 hp, the SRT 392 at 485 hp, and the SRT Hellcat at 707 hp and 650 lb-ft, with the eight-speed automatic standard and a manual still offered on V-8 models.¹

This record's own overview describes the Hellcat supply story in detail: in July 2015 FCA cancelled unscheduled 2015 Hellcat sold orders, opened 2016 Hellcat orders in the second week of August 2015 with production from September, and said it would more than double Hellcat production for 2016, with allocation split into two dealer cycles, August 2015 and February 2016. No absolute production figure was ever published for that doubled output.²

This record's own overview also states that no 2016 model-year production figure was found, with FCA's reported 64,433 calendar-year 2016 US Challenger sales reused as the best available substitute. This record's own production section documents three partial-year, worldwide color counts, all built only through February 29, 2016: 2,604 B5 Blue cars, 2,880 TorRed cars, and 3,709 Plum Crazy cars, the last figure likely close to a final count since Plum Crazy ordering was extended from December 2015 through January 2016, though this record's own note stops short of calling it final.^3,4

Four engines are documented: the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 at 305 hp on the SXT and SXT Plus, the 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 at up to 375 hp on R/T variants, the 6.4-liter (392) HEMI V-8 at 485 hp on the R/T Scat Pack, 392 HEMI Scat Pack Shaker and SRT 392, and the supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V-8 at 707 hp and 650 lb-ft on the SRT Hellcat. Two transmissions are documented, the TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic, standard across all trims, and a six-speed manual available on V-8 models.^1,2

This record documents an extensive options list: the new 392 HEMI Scat Pack Shaker model itself, a Blacktop Appearance Group, an R/T Classic Package, a Scat Pack Appearance Group, a Laguna Leather Interior Package for the SRT 392 and Hellcat, and a $995 SRT Hellcat dual full-length carbon-fiber-pattern stripe option ordered from January 2016. Twelve exterior colors are documented, three of them carrying the partial-year counts noted above, alongside nine interior trim descriptions and a specifications section carrying preliminary curb weights ranging from 3,885.2 lb for the SXT up to 4,476.2 lb for the automatic SRT Hellcat, and an introduction date of the third quarter of 2015 as a 2016 model.^5,6

This record's own performance section carries a single manufacturer claim, a low-3-second 0-60 mph for the SRT Hellcat, and its identification section documents VIN codes for the model, engine and assembly plant, confirming Brampton Assembly for the year. Its conflicts section is empty, but its unpublished leads section carries an enthusiast-compiled 2016 Hellcat production breakdown, 11,995 cars split by transmission and by color, sourced to a Hellcat.org forum post repeated by Torque News, which this record's own note states explicitly are not official FCA numbers and carry forum lineage only.⁷