It was late on a warm Friday night when I found myself sitting at a stoplight on Detroit’s Woodward Avenue in the new 2023 Dodge Challenger Black Ghost. When the light turned green, I eased into the throttle to get the car moving and a few feet out, I began to ask for more. The combination of the roar from the exhaust and the whine of the supercharger quickly caught the attention of the spectators sitting in the parking lots along Woodward Ave, as all 807 horsepower pushed the Pirelli three-season tires to their limits.
Just as quickly as I had climbed into the boost, I lifted, shifted and let the supercharged Challenger coast, as on this particular Friday night, police presence was fairly heavy and I wanted to stay below the speed limit. As I neared the next red light and came to a stop, I watched a police officer turn from one side road and pull in next to a dark parking lot, turning off his exterior lights and practically disappearing into the shadows. A few seconds later, a very loud Ford Mustang GT stopped next to me at the light. The passenger yelled, “Your Scat Pack sounds pretty good – wanna race?” I gestured to the police officer parked ahead on the side of the road, at which point the guys in the Mustang gave me a thumbs up and when the light turned green, we all slowly went on our way.
As the evening went on and I continued to cruise Woodward Avenue, I had several more people ask about racing. While racing on Woodward is pretty common, when I drive my own Challenger SRT® Hellcat, I get far less inquiries from the common pony cars, but when a second person in a naturally aspirated Ford called the Black Ghost a Scat Pack, I got to thinking. The stripe on the rear end of the Black Ghost has traditionally only been offered on the Challenger R/T Scat Pack and there are no SRT or Hellcat badges on the rear or sides of the car – just the classic Challenger script logo. The only SRT Hellcat logo is on the grille, and it is black, so at night with the headlights on, you really cannot see it.
The reason that so many slow pony cars were wanting to race me on Woodward Avenue was that they thought that it was an R/T Scat Pack Widebody, so in paying tribute to a Detroit street racer from the 1970s, the folks at Dodge did the unthinkable – they created an SRT Hellcat Redeye sleeper.
Now realistically, most people who hear the whine of the supercharger quickly figured out that at the very least, this is a modified Challenger Scat Pack. Once the Black Ghost clears its throat, the vast majority of automotive enthusiasts will recognize from the sound that this is not powered by a naturally aspirated engine. However, for someone who wants the intense performance of the supercharged HEMI® engine without drawing attention to the fact that it is powered by a supercharged HEMI engine, this Dodge Challenger is far more subtle than any of its Mopar® muscle car brethren.
In short, it is an 807-horsepower muscle car that can easily be mistaken for a 485-horsepower muscle car, making it the best option on the market for anyone who prefers to fly below the radar, so to speak.
The Black Ghost Package
If you are not familiar with the 2023 Dodge Challenger Black Ghost package, it is based on the 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T SE that was driven by street racer, decorated veteran and Detroit police officer Godfrey Qualls. Qualls’ Challenger was black with a white tail stripe and a black vinyl gator-skin-style roof. That is why this Last Call special edition model has the white stripe from the Scat Pack models and the gator-skin-style roof treatment. To further the classic look, the modern Black Ghost has a classic chrome fuel door, Challenger script logos on the grille, fenders and rear spoiler, and the classic DODGE chrome lettering on the upper fascia, just in front of the leading edge of the hood – similar to the brand badging on the 1970 models. The exterior aspect of the package also includes black Mopar hood pins and a set of “Warp Speed” wheels in satin carbon – which look like a bright silver compared to the dark wheels that come on many modern Dodge models. While I am generally a fan of dark wheels and less chrome on a modern muscle car, the Black Ghost package is a beauty with obvious classic appeal.
On the inside, the 2023 Dodge Challenger Black Ghost features carbon fiber trim, a black suede headliner, black Alcantara/Laguna Leather seats, an Alcantara steering wheel and a Black Ghost badge on the passenger’s side of the dashboard. Of course, it also comes with the 8.4-inch Uconnect® infotainment screen, which includes controls for the SRT Drive Modes and the SRT Performance Pages application.
Big Performance on the Street
In terms of the nuts and bolts, the 2023 Dodge Challenger Black Ghost is based on the SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody Jailbreak, so it is powered by the supercharged 6.2-liter engine topped by a 2.7-liter IHI supercharger – yielding 807 horsepower and 707 lb-ft of torque. That power is sent to the rear wheels by means of a quick-shifting 8-speed automatic transmission and a set of 3.09 gears (rather than 2.62), making this car a beast when it comes to low end acceleration.
Officially, the Redeye Widebody Jailbreak is good for 0-60 times in the 3.4-second range in ideal conditions, but even with “dirty” tires on an average street surface, this supercharged Challenger effortlessly reels off 0-60 sprints in 3.6 seconds. Those times were recorded on multiple street surfaces by just coming to a stop and launching – no burnouts to clean off the tires and certainly no special preparation of the surface. For comparison, on the same streets, my own 2017 Challenger SRT Hellcat on stock Pirelli tires is 3-4 tenths slower, but where the Redeye models really outshine the original SRT Hellcat is through the mid-range.
Even on a good launch with the 2023 Dodge Challenger Black Ghost, you can only use so much of the available 807 horsepower and that is why it is “only” a few tenths quicker when compared head-to-head with a standard SRT Hellcat with a hundred less horsepower. However, once the Black Ghost is moving, it can really use all of that power and that is where it begins to really pull away from my 2017 SRT Hellcat. Really, that mid-range pull is stronger than most street cars and that is where all of the Redeye-powered cars flex their muscles with the most emphasis. For example, when cruising on the highway at 60 with the Black Ghost, putting the pedal to the floor will rocket the car up into the triple digits like few cars sold in this country – and most of the cars that will pull harder through the mid-range are European exotics that cost several times more than any Dodge product.
Best of all, since the Challenger Black Ghost is equipped with the adaptive, adjustable Bilstein dampers and the massive six-piston Brembo brakes, this 807-horsepower muscle car handles far better than your average quarter-mile monster. If you want a smoother ride, you can pick the Street suspension setting, but when you want to carve the corners, you have the Track setting – with the Sport setting providing a nice mix of handling and ride comfort. For most people, including myself, the Track setting is plenty smooth for daily driving, even on Michigan’s rough roads, but for those who don’t want to feel the bumpers, the smoother settings still offer great cornering abilities with very little body roll. When you do get into a turn with a bit too much speed, the Brembo brakes bring the Challenger down to manageable speeds in a hurry.
Only 300 examples of the 2023 Dodge Challenger Black Ghost special edition were built, so they certainly aren’t the easiest package to find, but for those who did buy one – they have a gorgeous muscle car that combines classic design inspiration and incredible modern performance like few other cars on the market.
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