With the return of the muscle car just over the horizon I've been looking forward to making new car owners jealous of my rumble.
And it looks like my wait may be over. Dodge has jumped the gun in an apparent effort to be the first to release their muscle car comeback.
The new Challenger was unveiled at Detroit. The concept was released just two years ago.
The 2008 model will be available with a 6.1L Hemi V8, comes in orange or black and is only available with an automatic transmission.
Expected options for the 2009 model include a 5.7L Hemi V8, a V6, a 6-speed manual and a full compliment of colors.
It's advertised at 425 horsepower and 420lb-ft of torque, but with performance on par with the 305 horspower 2002 V8 Firebird (0-60 in around 5 seconds, 1/4mile in "under 14 seconds") it's hard to say how it's going to compete against the high end new Mustangs, much less the new LS3 powered* Camaro, looming ominously on the edge of it's release date. For being called Challenger it's not much of a challenge for other vehicles in it's class. Who knows, Chrysler has been known to under-rate stats, maybe it'll actually be a bit quicker.
I'm not a MOPAR guy and as I've discussed previously the Hemi engine design I feel is outdated and used merely for hype. But I think it's an awesome change from the direction motor vehicles have been going for the last decade. It might not be king of the road but I'd rather have one of these try to race me than the failed attempt they wasted the Charger nameplate on.
But let's hope there isn't another Challenger catastrophy...
*Rumored engine in the Camaro - no official data has been released that I have been made aware of