For rich, impatient people that think $40 grand is a fair price for a Dodge (regardless of the 425 horses under the hood), the Challenger SRT8 does the job. For the rest of us, there are "regular" Hemi and V6 versions of the uber-retro pony car. They look quite good – better than the SRT8, I'd wager – and they pack a triplet of drivetrain options. The base engine is the 3.5 liter V6 with 250 horses and a, gulp, 4 speed auto. Next up is the 5.7 liter Hemi we all know and mostly like, with a 5-speed auto and 370 horses (an increase over the 340-350 in the Charger, and 9 more than GM's G8 GT natch). Finally, if you get a 6-speed "pistol grip" manual transmission, the most phallic gear lever in a universe of phallic gear levers, you can have 375 horses, and the privilege of filling up with premium gas. Prices aren't out yet, and the interior still is an unfortunate retro joke.
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“Gulp” indeed; a 3.5 in this car is going to be pulling its ball bearings off lugging this car around. Must be for the rental versions.
I don’t think there was a gear lever more phallic than the ones in the 90-94 Eclipse/Talon/Laser triplets. I felt dirty trying to change gears in those cars.
At least they didn’t put the awful 3.3L that’s the base minivan engine – that would have seriously blown.
Wow…
Chrysler updated an engine?
Sweet.
The dashboard looks like something they pulled out of a 1987 Dakota and added round faced gauges. I love the sun-bleached gray color!
Everything else is not so bad.
Beautiful. That’s just simply fantastic. They even spent the money to make the pedals look nice!
I can’t wait to test the “Vanishing Point” edition, complete with white paint, Colorado registration, speed in the center console, disabled airbags and ABS, a CB radio, and pyrotechnic devices in the bumper for wild displays of anti-social, bulldozer v Challenger carnage.
This car will be an utter failure.
It’s too heavy, too expensive, the base tranny is only 4 speeds, and (as the author points out) the interior is rubbish.
Dodge should lighten the car by 300 lbs, add a manual tranny, and lower the price.
Seriously, how many wistful guys in their 50s are gonna buy this thing? How many of those guys exist? How big is the market demographic for older guys with bad comb-overs?
When you see old Challengers, they’re not bloated luxo-barges. They’re stripped, bare-chested, obnoxious, nasty, bare-bones performance cars. Didn’t the designers see ‘Vanishing Point’, if not for the darned car, then at least for the girl on the motorcycle??? Sheesh.
Starlightmica
I own one of those “awful 3.3s” 10 yrs and 100k
Zero problems and it does exactly what it is intended to do very well. No I wouldn’t put it in the Challenger either, and they didn’t.
So, does this mean you can only get a manual transmission in the top of the line model?
Seriously? Who makes these decisions? It’s not a bad looking car, but you would have to be nuts to pay $40 grand for a Dodge “Mustang” and then they make it so you won’t want to buy the cheaper versions by only offering the auto tranny.
Which means you will be able to get a V-6 Challenger in the mid to upper 20’s and a V-8 HEMI Challenger in the low to mid 30’s.
Perfect.
I am predicting 50K minimum annual sales in 2009 for the Challenger. Probably north of that.
vanishing point edition is the one i love. Everyone is waiting for its unveiling at NY show to know more. till then check this: Challenger
That’s odd, I thought the LX cars had a 5-speed auto with the 3.5L when they were first introduced. But if they did, its gone now!
At least in Europe, the 3.5 Chrysler 300 started with a 4-speed and got the 5-speed later.
Given Chrysler’s status, this thing is pretty much a Studebaker Hawk – not bad looking, but a hodgepodge of existing parts on an old (Mercedes in this case) platform, overpriced and appealing mostly to old farts from a gasping company. Does it come with a combover and a satin windbreaker with “It’s Got a Hemi” on the back?
A 4 speed auto mated to the weakest engine, brilliant. Why even offer it with the 3.5L six if your going to make it undrivable by using the worst transmission you could find. Heck why not regress to the 50’s and put a 3 speed in it. Count me among those who got excited when I saw the concept car, but now that they’ve worked out the details, I am utterly disappointed. I want a strip down muscle car, or at least as close as governemnt regulations allow. I guess I should have figured that Chrysler would screw this up too. They started with a great exterior design and were able to produce a parody of the original Challenger by the time they were finished.
Lumbergh21:
A 4 speed auto mated to the weakest engine, brilliant. Why even offer it with the 3.5L six if your going to make it undrivable by using the worst transmission you could find.
It’s called a “price leader.” They have to have some way to offer a cheap version that’s price-competive with Mustang or they’ll never cop their share of the secretary-car market.
Once upon a time you could pop a couple of viagra, fly down to Westworld and buy an original piece of crap Challenger for $40K. However, now that people are dedicated to throwing a hundred thou at any goofy abomination, this looks like a genuine bargain.
On the plus side: When this thing fails, it should kill any manufacturer dreams for new Javelins, Cosworth Vegas and Torinos.