Challenger or Champion?
First of all, lets get one thing straight. The Challenger Concept is hardly a concept, but rather a fully-fledged prototype of what we all know is Dodges answer to Fords Mustang. Whether DaimlerChrysler has been planning a two-door muscle car all along, even before the all-new Mustang hit the streets just over a year ago, is anyones guess outside of Auburn Hills hallowed halls, but one things for sure, Dearborns ability to sell over 165,000 coupes annually, and in so doing garner 44 percent of a small specialty segment that previously seemed to be all but dying with lackluster sales of Pontiacs GTO, Toyotas Celica (now canceled), Hyundais Tiburon and others, made bringing the Challenger to market a certainty.
Not surprisingly, the new Challenger is | | The Challenger Concept is hardly a concept, but rather a fully-fledged prototype of what we all know is Dodges answer to Fords Mustang. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler) |
as aptly named now as it was in its past when it debuted in 1969 as a 1970 model (alongside the enlarged E-body Plymouth Barracuda which shared platforms and its general shape) to "challenge" the pony cars of the era, namely the fastback Mustang, first and foremost, as well as Chevys Camaro, Pontiacs Firebird, and to a lesser extent AMCs Javelin, not to mention that last manufacturers 12-inch shorter | | Unlike the original Challenger, which came to market with no less than nine available engines, the new prototype only arrives with a single 6.1-liter HEMI. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler) |
two-seat AMX built off the Javelins platform.
Unlike the original Challenger, which came to market with no less than nine available engines, from a slant-six to the all-powerful 426 Hemi, the new prototype only comes with a single 6.1-liter HEMI. Of
course, when the production model is offered in the metal, at the very
least a 5.7-liter HEMI will be made available featuring somewhere in the neighborhood of | | The Challenger became the status symbol of a slightly more rebellious crowd than its Ford and Chevy counterparts, thanks to movies like 1971s Vanishing Point, starring Barry Newman as antiestablishment tough-guy Kowalski. (Photo: MGM Studios) |
340-horsepower and 390 lb-ft of torque, just as in other LX cars, while a high-output 3.5-litre V6, or something similar, may also make the grade in base cars, needed to go up against the Mustangs extremely popular 4.0-liter V6. The possibility of a base V6-powered Challenger is purely hypothetical, of course, as Dodge may only be considering a smaller, more specialized run of Challengers and not an out-and-out | | Theres a side of Americana? that craves Rebel Without a Cause vehicles. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler)? |
assault against
Fords pony car, in which case all would be fitted with its most
powerful engine. Its difficult to say what the automaker has planned,
but Im really getting ahead of myself anyway, arent I?
In reality, what we have to ponder in the here and now is nothing more than a prototype, and a mighty fine one at that. Whether or not Dodge will build it exactly as shown is neither here nor there at the moment, but what matters is that this concept came to Detroits Cobo Hall at all. Its not like the folks at Chrysler Group needed a pick-me-up | | Chrysler Groups 11-strong SRT lineup will grow to an even dozen with the advent of the Challenger SRT8. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler)? |
like GMs employees have been craving something exciting, such as the Camaro concept that was just unveiled today as well. After all, Chrysler is expanding plant production while GM seems to be imploding. But, of course, it wasnt like Auburn Hills could just stand idly by while Ford took all the credit for an revered era when its muscle car trio, made up of the Challenger, Cuda and Charger, dominated stock car racing and became status symbols of a slightly more rebellious crowd than its Ford and Chevy counterparts, thanks to movies like 1971s Vanishing Point, starring | | No-one has ever driven a new HEMI-powered Chrysler Group car with a 6-speed manual shifter before, at least no-one outside of the automakers Chelsea proving grounds. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler) |
Barry Newman as antiestablishment tough-guy Kowalski, an image that still sticks today.
Todays image, however, has little to do with cool car flicks of the muscle car era, but rather because of Chrysler Groups purposefully planned decision to give the middle-finger salute to all that currently seems politically correct. Hollywood in mind, you wont be seeing environmental-good-boy Tim Robbins showing up at the Grammies in a 425-horsepower HEMI-powered 300C SRT8 later this year. No, its more likely that hell be "challenging" the establishment by driving | | That engine isnt merely a bored and stroked version of the 5.7-liter lump, but rather a much more sophisticated piece of machinery. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler) |
up in a new Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, or maybe even a new Lexus GS 450h, if one is road-ready in time. Nothing against these cars, of course, but lets face it, theyre not exactly Rebel Without a Cause material. Theres a side of Americana that craves such vehicles, no matter how frowned upon theyll be when pulling up in their own driveways. In fact, the more frowns such rebels get, the cooler the car must be.
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