Prior to the 2015 Dodge Charger descending onto the stage, the 2015 Challenger made its world debut at the 2014 New York Auto Show.
The Challenger will arrive in showrooms ahead of its sedan brother in Q3 2014, and will bring with it eight different trims, including the R/T Shaker and 392 HEMI Scat Pack. Under the hood — whether shaking or static — a choice of three engines will send power to either the standard six-speed manual or the new eight-speed Torqueflite automatic: 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 (305 hp); 5.7-liter HEMI V8 (375 hp); and 6.4-liter HEMI V8 (470 hp/lb-ft of torque).
Inside, drivers will have adjustable gauges, UConnect with remote-start and Performance Pages adjustable performance system, and two touchscreens at the ready.
As for outside, the new Challenger takes its cues from the 1971 Challenger, though with modern upgrades such as LED daytime running lights and LED tail lamps.
Not that the front-end needed improving, but it’s a nice update.
The real improvement is in the rear where the taillight design is more classy and less cartoonish.
No, the real improvement is in the interior. A very welcome update there.
I think the exterior was updated just enough to keep the interest while they bet the farm on the interior. Very nice in my opinion.
By the way, is the trunk raised ever so slightly? From some angles it looks so
More classy and less cartoonish is certainly relative. I don’t see how a car this large and ostentatious could ever be considered classy.
I do think it is a cool car – in very small doses. Could never own one, but I guess I’m glad the option exists if this is your thing.
Now that I’ve spent way too many posts insulting this car in the other thread, let me give a compliment: this implementation of “angel eyes” looks great. Much better than BMW’s.
Better than BMW’s current implementation anyway. For some reason BMW decided to follow the aftermarket and make them overly bright and garish.
This is more of an imitation of the E39, which introduced those halo rings 14 years ago. As far as I know, that was the car that started the trend. Now I think every single vehicle on sale has some kind of accent lighting. It’s been milked for all it’s worth, and I’m ready for it to go away – including on BMWs.
It’s not going away, because it’s far and away the best way to implement DRLs (which are a great safety feature, especially in northern locations), but I hope it will get less blingy.
I was not aware DRLs were mandatory. I guess that makes it excusable.
They are mandatory in Canada, not yet in the USA.
SOLID improvements all around. No controversy here!
Are those LED rings around the headlights? They copied BMW.
Ya, but you have to have DRL’s now and you don’t want to run HIDs full time. So it’s the most straightforward solution with HIDs.
I thought it was on/off cycles that killed HIDs, not hours in use?
Another excellent solution for DRL is to run the front signal lamp in its bright phase. (So, parking lamps are not acceptable.) Many OEMs do this, Toyota very notably, and there is at least one excellent quality aftermarket device called the DRL1 module that helps you convert your car to run this way.
Its a good option, because those bulbs are cheap to replace, and often have long life versions that don’t compromise output, where as long life headlights are a huge output sacrifice. I did this on my Alero, as it had the ECE spec lamps which ran high output H1 bulbs in the high beam and were unsuitable for DRL use.
That is really….really….retro. In a surprisingly good way. It definitely looks nice and certainly draws a nice appearance between the ‘ouch paper cut’ lines of the Camaro and the smoother retro looks of the Mustang. It looks big but in a very smooth way. I just wonder if the market for that retro a look is strong enough to justify it. The people who were old enough to drive them in their time are somewhere in their late 50s early 60s now. But retro can sell so it should be interesting to see how it does.
Not even a peep about the Hellcat. I didn’t expect much, but just a nod and a wink would have been nice.
I’m not a Fiatsler fan, and can’t believe how much Dodge f***ed up by Dartifying the Charger… but the company really did a nice job with this update.
Less Fiat = Better Mopar.
opinions are like butts so, having said that, I disagree. Fiat is simply making Dodge cars palatable to larger swaths of the population. Somehow I also doubt Chrysler would come up with these much better interiors were it not for Fiat. We’ll soon see what the market thinks I guess.
The front of that car looks absolutely menacing. I like it!
“The front of that car looks absolutely menacing.”
Eyeliner will do that.
How can it be menacing when it’s smiling? The smile is there from some angles. Check this out:
bestcars uol com br/bc/informe-se/noticias/supercarros-dodge-charger-renovado-e-mais-versoes-do-challenger-v8/
Smiling? Meh – looks like the class bully to me!……LOL
Did you check the link? Tell me if it isn’t smiling in those pics?
Anyway, I agree, especially on the pic here on TTAC it looks like a shark. I was just kidding with you.
But it still smiles from certain angles, which is nice in my book.
I’ll take mine hemi-flavoured, in Moulin Rouge.
This is about the only car I’ve ever seen that Just Doesn’t Work in light blue.
I “got lucky” for the first time with the help of my ’72 ‘Cuda, so I can’t help but love this car. The interior is also reminiscent of my ’69 Grand Prix, with the driver-centric layout. Of course, the (optional) “Shaker” hood is awesome as well. If only it was fueled by unicorn farts!
Can you verify that the V6 is available with a manual? It hasn’t been before.
I like this a lot. Nothing subtle about the design, but that’s okay. If you put the Challenger in a group of 10 cars and show them to little kids asking for their favorite, I’ll bet the Challenger wins hands-down. And I mean that as a compliment (adults tend to get swayed by conformity, etc., whereas the kids would just pick the one that looks the coolest).
Having said that, in order to own one I’d have to be single, an empty-nester, or have at least one other personal everyday car. Sorry Dodge.
Seeing one of these in person really gives you perspective as to how tall and narrow this car is… two things you really want in a sports car.
Maybe Sergio can “fix” it by installing a turbo diesel into it and putting the body on a FWD chassis from a Panda.