With a 6 L V8, new sports car's performance equals its eye-catching looks
Jim Kenzie
Special to the Star


Aug 02, 2008

I have a new, all-time eyeball-grabbing glom champion.

No car I have ever driven – Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, Audi R8, AMC Hornet – has generated public response like the 2008 Dodge Challenger.

It might have been the ORANGE paint job with the faux carbon fibre hood appliqué.

But I bet in silver or black – the only other colours this car "came" in – it wouldn't have been materially different.

Cellphone cameras snapped. Shoulders were dislocated. Heads on children of all ages swivelled – even kids far too young to have ever seen an original Challenger.

One guy, looking about my age and with a hippie-style bandana, drove the door handles off his Hyundai Elantra hatchback, just to catch up to me on the 401 to give me (well, the car) the thumbs-up.

Even a cyclist, with the too-tight Lycra shorts, plastic neon shirt and funky helmet, did the same (usually, cyclists are extending another digit toward cars of any sort).

This surprised me considerably, because back in the day, the Challenger was far from being as iconic as the Ford Mustang, which begat the pony car craze, or the Chevrolet Camaro, or even its ChryCo sibling, the Plymouth Barracuda.

But there's something about the lines of the new Challenger that absolutely drive people nuts.

Several onlookers who did know the original Challenger noted how much bigger this car is. That's partly because all cars are bigger these days, to accommodate us fatter customers, and also the airbags and other crash protection our governments mandate on our behalf; and partly because the car is based on the Chrysler 300 platform, and that too is a big car.

I said "came'' (as in, colours it "came in") above, because if you haven't already got one of the 500 2008 Challengers that were allocated for Canada (about 7,000 total for North America), chances are you aren't going to get one.

They are/were all SRT8 models, meaning the 6.1-litre Hemi V8, five-speed automatic transmission with Mercedes-style side-to-side manual override, handling suspension, 20-inch wheels and tires, four-wheel disc ABS brakes with calipers by Italian racing brake maker Brembo, traction control, Electronic Stability Control program, and a hyper-cool built-in automatic acceleration meter, which measures and stores 0-to-100 km/h, eighth-mile or quarter-mile times, deceleration distances, and lateral acceleration measurements.

Oh yeah, there's the starting price of $44,995.

A wider range of models, including V6 and manual transmission powertrains, will arrive in September for the 2009 model year. Leaks from the supplier industry indicate a folding hardtop convertible version arrives in 2010.

Is the Challenger all show and no go? Hardly. With this much power and torque, you know it goes.

Shut off the ESC and you can light the tires up at will. Better to leave it on to both save the rubber and improve the performance.

It sounds absolutely spectacular too.

The transmission shifts crisply if not seamlessly. Manual override allows you to take full advantage of the 6400 rpm rev limit.

The Challenger also handles remarkably well. This chassis is basically one-generation-old Mercedes E-Class, so it has great DNA.

The steering is light and perhaps could use a titch more feel, but it always lets you know what's going on at the tire/pavement interface.

I did a semi-hot lap at Chrysler's Proving Grounds a few weeks ago, and the car corners brilliantly.

The ride is firm of course, but not horrible, and the independent rear suspension keeps things under more comfortable control on rough roads than the live axle of the Mustang, for example.

The interior is nowhere near as dramatic as the exterior, but it is functional and reasonably well executed. The wrap-around sports seats are leather-trimmed with suede inserts.

The back seat is actually quite spacious, although claustrophobic due to the tiny, non-opening rear windows. But getting in there is a pain. The power driver's seat barely moves far forward enough, and the passenger's front-seat backrest doesn't automatically return to its pre-set adjustment setting when you flip it forward to access the rear. There are a lot of Mercedes parts inside too, including the transponder key fob/push button start feature. Unlike Mercedes though, there is no dedicated slot to stick the fob into, so you run the risk of losing it. (See Carte Blanche below.)

It looks like the entire steering column is also lifted straight from the E-Class, complete with too-far-down turn indicator-cum-wiper stalk, gigantic steering wheel with manual tilt-and-telescope, and massively complicated driver information system with no fewer than four steering wheel spoke buttons.

But you also get the oh-so-handy one-touch three-flash lane change feature on the turn signal.

Visibility to the rear three-quarters isn't great, thanks to the fat rear roof pillars.

My tester had the optional ($1,100) MyGIG multimedia sound system, which allows you to load more songs than have ever yet been written onto the car's hard drive.

It seemed unnecessarily complicated to get it to display pre-set radio stations. Hmmm, maybe nobody listens to the radio any more.

Satellite navigation is part of this deal too. One difficulty I had there was getting the display brightness correct.

Because I drive with my headlights on all the time (DRL doesn't light up the rears), the system thinks it's night-time during the day, and I have to manually switch via a touch-screen button to a daytime setting.

At night I have to manually switch back again. But the next morning, the screen is so dark I cannot see the touch screen button! There has to be a better way.

My tester came with the Canada-only "Challenger group," consisting of "500'' badges on the grille and dashboard (signifying the limited production run) and a certificate of authenticity indicating that the car was built especially for you, the new owner. Officially, this is listed as a $2,000 option package, but I don't know that buyers really had the choice of turning it down. I mean, why would you?

It is easy to question whether Chrysler coming out with a high-performance, fuel-swilling sports car is the politically correct thing to do when fuel conservation seems to be everyone's main concern.

Well, 7,000 times $45,000 – roughly, the first year sales volume times the base list price – is a third of a billion dollars gross revenue. Need I say more?

The new Camaro comes out next year, and a revised Mustang the year after. Cars like these help bring some romance back to the industry, at a time when it could use some.

A big fat welcome to them all, say I.

The Challenger also handles remarkably well. This chassis is basically one-generation-old Mercedes E-Class, so it has great DNA.

While it may be a few years too late, the muscle car wars are once again upon us. Ford is planning to introduce a new Mustang in just a few weeks at the Los Angeles Auto Show and Chevrolet has already taken the wraps off its all-new Camaro. Dodge fans are also back in the game with the revived Challenger, but Mopar buffs will have a few less muscle car options than first thought.

While the Challenger will be offered in three flavors for 2009 – SE, R/T and SRT8 – an optional sun roof will be the closest sun-lovers will get to a drop top Challenger. Despite reports that Dodge would offer a convertible version of the Challenger, those plans have since been cancelled.

“We considered a convertible when we were developing Challenger, but the extra weight needed to beef up the car when the top was removed was too much of a penalty,” Mike Accavitti, director of Dodge brand marketing, told Kicking Tires. “And that was with a manual soft-top. A power-retractable hardtop would add even more weight.”

Accavitti also added that the convertible would have been aimed at a niche market, making it hard for Chrysler to recoup the development costs – especially at a time when the Michigan automaker is already strapped for cash.

Snake eyes, low chin, 22-inch running gear. This is the SEMA-bound Dodge Challenger Blacktop, a Mopar Underground creation which began its life in the form of a 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T. The guys did what they are known for; made a few changes here and there. These include the custom-made spoilers and front bow which gives it a ‘chin’ look. An interesting “black on black” stripe has given the car its nickname, Blacktop.

Then those massive 22-inch wheels that should take away a lot of the cornering performance potential, but give the car a nice wide stance for great straight line stability. Rolling on these are Dunlop tires measuring 265/35 R22 front and 305/30 R22 rear. We don’t know what this Blacktop Challenger can do yet but Mopar components are fitted to enhance the HEMI V8, bits like cat back dual-exhaust and cold air intake.

At SEMA just look for the black, striped Dodge Challenger with a number of red enhancements, including a red leather interior.

Dodge offered some sneak peeks into its lineup for this year’s Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) show, one of the wildest of which was the Dodge Challenger Targa. Intent on racing up some racing credibility for the all-new Challenger, Mopar took the resurrected pony car to compete in the Targa Newfoundland.

Dubbed “Samantha,” the Challenger Targa started life as a Challenger with the Mopar drag racing package installed. A 540-horsepower, 490 ft-lb 392 HEMI crate engine was crammed under the hood, and it’s hooked up to a six-speed Tremec manual transmission. Power is transferred to the rear wheels through a modified 2009-spec rear end. The Challenger Targa features KW-developed brake and suspension upgrades from the Dodge Viper ACR, including 380mm brake rotors with six-piston calipers up front and four-pot calipers with 355mm rotors at the rear.

A coat of Snakeskin Green paint from the Viper palette was applied to give the Challenger Targa a unique look, and the car also features a Mopar scooped hood and chin spoiler designed to help keep the front end on the ground.

The car completed the 2200km race this September with Chrysler LLC Design Vice President Ralph Gilles at the wheel and co-driver Karen Wagner, finishing second in class and twenty-second overall.

The opportunity for SRT engineering to “one-up” itself comes to fruition with the 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT10 Concept. Power for the 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT10 Concept comes from the Dodge Viper 8.4-liter, all-aluminum V-10 engine with 600 horsepower and 560 lb. ft. of torque. This new halo concept delivers the well-known SRT credo of benchmark performance. The Dodge Challenger SRT10 Concept includes a fresh coat of Tornado Red paint with a carbon-fiber deck lid and hood. The “shaker hood” is a nostalgic representation of the 1970 HEMI Cuda, giving the 600-hp Viper V-10 engine room to breathe. Brakes have been upgraded and BILSTEIN® shocks at all four corners improve handling balance. The interior boasts sport seats and carbon-fiber accents throughout and, of course, true to the Viper-powered vehicle lineage, a red engine start push-button in the dash.