If Ford can go retro style with the Mustang, why not Chrysler and its Dodge marque? So here it is, a brand-new Dodge Challenger, a true muscle car that looks like a cleaned-up version of the original 1970s model.
Unlike the original, which was offered with nine different engines, the new car makes do with Chrysler’s lusty 6.1 liter V-8, also found in the
300C SRT8. This mill churns out 425 bhp, enough to get the new car to 60 mph in about 5.5 seconds. It is being produced in limited numbers, and performance is between the standard Mustang and the
Ford Shelby GT500. A real muscle car.
If you don't want quite that much power you can get the 5.7 liter Hemi-head engine with a manual or auto transmission, or a 3.5 liter V-6.
The new Challenger looks uncannily like the old one, but a bit sleeker, thanks partly to the fact that the bumpers are now part of the body, and there is a wide, narrow air intake below the traditional grille. To make the car look more sporty, a pair of air intakes are built into the hood.
Two-door coupe
The car is a two-door coupe, of course, with large doors and a sloping back roof section, but it was designed as a five-seater, whereas four shaped seats make more sense with this sort of performance.
At the rear, there is a small lip spoiler on the trunk lid, full width rear lamps, and twin rectangular exhaust pipes. Very much in the muscle car style.
The new Challenger, built on a full four-seater underbody, is quit a large car, though, being 9 inches longer than the Mustang.
6.1 liter V-8
Beneath the hood is the excellent Chrysler 6.1 liter Hemi-Head engine which has plenty of power for this car; 425 bhp at 6,000 rpm, and 420 lb ft (570 Nm) at 4,800 rpm. Quite a sporty V-8 which is able to pull the Challenger along at a pulse-quickening rate.
The lack of a manual transmission as an option blunts the power a little, but you do get a manual over-ride to get the engine up to 6,000 rpm or so.
Nor should the chassis let the engine down. At the front you get double wishbone suspension, with multi-links at the rear to give controlled toe-in, with the geometry of double wishbones. A good set up, and more advanced than that on any of the Mustangs, including the Shelby 500.
Brembo brakes with big discs
The brakes, too, are up the standard you want on a muscle car, with Brembo aluminum calipers working on 14.2 inch (360 mm) front and 13.8 inch (350 mm) discs. Stability control and a torque-sensing limited slip diff are included in the sporty spec.
Because the Challenger is quite large, it is also a little heavier than it might be at 4,140 lb (1,880 lb), which is 120 lb (55 kg) more than the Ford Shelby GT500.
Overall, this Dodge Challenger is a welcome addition to the small but elite band of modern American muscle cars. It also looks the part, sitting on 20-inch wheels clad in 245/ 45 section Goodyear tires.
