2008 Dodge Challenger Concept Car
Saturday, February 18th, 2006
Trevor Creed was quoted as saying that if 25,000 people put down $5,000 each, production would be a certainty. The only criticisms of the Challenger so far seem to be sour grapes from the GM crowd, annoyed that the cartoonish Camaro’s thunder has been stolen, and from the import crew, which, ignoring the Mini and FJ Cruiser, proclaimed that only Detroit would look to the past instead of the future for inspiration.
If a production Charger was made, it would, like the concept, keep the LX’s independent multilink rear suspension. Challenger would probably be V8 only — but also noted that this may depend on whether the Challenger would be made as a mass-market vehicle, á la Charger, or as a 10,000 cars/year specialty model. If the former, a V6 would help it to compete with the cheaper Mustang; if the latter, only V8s would make sense.
There are rumors that the new 392 Hemi crate engine, designed for racing, will go along with the new Dodge Challenger body. The 392 is apparently a racing-only engine in current form, not a production design, but a lower-power version may well be made for production and appear in the Challenger. The Challenger concept car to be shown at NAIAS (Detroit, January 2006; the Camaro will also be shown) uses, not surprisingly, the SRT-8 6.1 liter engine — but, unlike any current production LX car, it also has a six-speed manual gearbox. (Automobile suggested that the 510 horsepower 6.4 liter 392 Hemi might be used.) There are issues with the 392 - most notably the question of what untrained drivers will do with that much power. A fairly large number of Vipers left this world unexpectedly.
The Chicago Tribune ran an article on the Challenger suggesting it would be built “next year” (2006 calendar year), which seems a bit premature given that most others are saying 2007-2009. They also said it would first show up at the Detroit auto show in January (watch Allpar for semi-live coverage.)
The LY series will be interesting for a number of reasons; for one, Chrysler reportedly has much more control over the engineering than they did with the LX, so more divergence of Mercedes may be expected in some areas, and the tuning and interior design may be different (though we would not expect any radical changes; it appears that the Magnum/Charger and 300 interiors are being standardized throughout the car lines). That said, the concept car interior is fairly close to the original, complete with an authentic gearshift (and clutch!), four-gauges-in-a-row instrument panel, and a general mix-of-old-and-new feel.
It’s hard to say whether the Challenger’s truly authentic look would have been used if the Dodge Charger had not been so controversial - and in some ways, less well-received than one would have expected.
Challenger is an appropriate name this time around; just as the original rode on a shortened B-body platform (with some A-body elements, called the E-body platform), the new Challenger will ride on a shortened LY platform - with two doors. (The Dodge people have apparently talked about the two-door design as a “flexibility test” for the platform, which sounds interesting coming from the company that produced coupes, luxury cars, economy cars, and minivans from a single basic platform. The real flexibility comes in their ability to build the Challenger on the same assembly line, at the same time, as the other LY models — which would be a major advance, since the body is very different.) It’s also possible that the entire LY platform will be on a slightly shorter wheelbase - in which case the LY would not be shortened, and would be cheaper to engineer and produce.
Tags: 2008 dodge, dodge challenger, 2008 challenger, challenger
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August 23rd, 2006 at 9:00 am
I would like to be on a dodge focus group and can I expect the barrucuda next? I’d aslo like to know if a convertible being discussed with the Challenger?
September 12th, 2006 at 7:29 am
THIS CAR BEGS FOR A CONV. MODEL,possible retractable hardtop!
September 20th, 2006 at 3:10 am
Well I sure like the super sports, buy when can expect a two door Dodge Charger?
November 17th, 2006 at 11:29 pm
I would like to know if they have decided on the colors that will be available for the new 2008 dodge challenger? I would also like to know when is the soonest you would be able to order a challenger? I would like to receive emails on any information available.
January 22nd, 2007 at 7:55 pm
Give me a “TOP BANNA” conv. ‘CUDA…. oooooh yea!!