Dodge Challenger Concept Revealed

[srivendel]

Autoweek somehow scored these photos:

To all those purists who still can’t forgive Dodge for building a four-door Charger, here’s your answer: the 2006 Dodge Challenger concept. The Dodge boys released a sketch of the car to the world, but we obtained these exclusive spy photos of the car, which will premiere at the North American International Auto Show in January in Detroit.

Challenger draws on the 1970 model as the icon of the series, says Tom Tremont of Chrysler’s Pacifica studio in California. But instead of merely recreating that car, designers tried to build the Challenger most people see in their mind’s eye, without imperfections like the tucked under wheels and long front overhang of the old car. At the same time, the concept incorporates distinctive Challenger cues like the rear fender kick, wide mouth front end, functional hood scoops and rectangular exhaust tips.

Built on a shortened Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger chassis (116-inch wheelbase vs. 120 inches), the Challenger gets a 6.1-liter Hemi hooked to a six-speed manual transmission with a pistol grip shifter.

All that’s left to ponder is “will they build it?” With all the hardware in place and a primed marketplace, we can’t see why Dodge wouldn’t rise to this challenge

I'm not a fan of the styling. But 425hp with a 6-speed sounds pretty sweet!

S.

[sammm]

They are taking the Mustang's Old is New approach. I don't hate it.

[altiain]

Looks pretty cool to me. Will a rebel flag decal for the roof be a factory option?

I say more power to 'em. If they can keep the weight semi-reasonable (and when I think of pony cars, semi-reasonable is 3200-3400 pounds), it ought to be a lot of fun. Maybe this will finally convince GM to get off their ass and bring back the Camaro/Firebird/Trans Am - as much as I dislike GM, that's the one pony car I really want to see treated to a "modern retro" design theme, with an off-the-shelf LS2 drivetrain (and some decent interior plastics!).

[srivendel]

Maybe this will finally convince GM to get off their ass and bring back the Camaro/Firebird/Trans Am - as much as I dislike GM, that's the one pony car I really want to see treated to a "modern retro" design theme, with an off-the-shelf LS2 drivetrain (and some decent interior plastics!).

Amen, brother. Rumor has it GM is planning a Camaro concept at Detroit in January based on a stretched Solstice platform. I'm skeptical, but at least the platform is small to begin with.

S.

[Treibenschnell]

The prelim sketches of the new old Camaro were absolutely smokin'... it's a shame they did away with that beast.

I'll see if I can't find those...