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Within the olden days, when automobile firms introduced a brand new mannequin out, often your entire vary could be sorted directly— from the lowliest bare-bones stripper to probably the most fancifully festooned variant. Oh, there would often be some mid-year introduction of a particular gross sales package deal or a efficiency variant however, in an epoch when yearly physique and trim adjustments had been the norm, there wasn’t a lot time to fiddle: all of it wanted to be prepared at launch in September.
It was a big-enough deal that Dodge was really going forward and producing its retro-styled Challenger in 2008, a automobile that had precipitated such a sensation on the show-car circuit a scant couple of seasons earlier than. The Challenger coupe properly rounded out what was then Dodge’s three LX-based rear-drive lineup, which additionally included the Charger sedan and the dearly-departed Magnum wagon. Now, with 15 years’ hindsight, we see that you may get a mixture of intriguing Challenger variations: V-6, all-wheel-drive, stick, computerized, and with a wide range of flavors of V-8 as much as almost 800 horsepower, all in the identical fundamental shell. However when it launched, there was just one model: the SRT8.
Dodge introduced manufacturing of its retro-pony by launching solely the high-performance variant that was as near the show-car model because it might get. A dangerous ploy? Sure and no: The Challenger precipitated a whole lot of buzz, however would sufficient folks have the $40,000 to step into one?
The entire ’08s were SRT8 variations, and had been all spec’ed out roughly the identical: The 6.1-liter Hemi of the day put out 425 horsepower (identical quantity the outdated 426 was marketed at) and 420 pounds-feet of torque, good for sub-5-second bursts to 60 mph. (Motor Pattern reported 0-60 in 4.7 seconds, with the quarter-mile dispatched in 13.1 seconds at greater than 108 mph.) Additionally, you can roast the rear tires at will… offered you turned off the traction management first.
Photograph by Jeff Koch
All used a five-speed computerized with AutoStick (a six-speed stick simply wasn’t prepared in time), and as a high-zoot SRT mannequin with a $40,000 sticker value in 2008 cash, the SRT8 additionally included Brembo four-piston brakes entrance and rear, 20 x 8-inch forged-aluminum wheels, leather-based bucket seats, and extra. Solely three choices had been accessible on this absolutely loaded LX: a moonroof, Goodyear F1 tires, and a navigation system with MyGig hard-drive infotainment. Manufacturing was restricted to simply 6,400, and Dodge offered each single one in every of them earlier than they had been constructed.
The parallels to the unique E-body had been there for all to see. Recall that the E-body chassis was basically the long-running B-body with a couple of inches taken out of the wheelbase; this allowed Mom Mopar’s pony automobile to swallow any engine the corporate made, clear as much as the vaunted Hemi. The fashionable Challenger was 150 kilos lighter than the Charger too, if nonetheless nicely north of the two-ton mark.
As for the type? Effectively, save for a mid-life refresh making its 1970-ish ends magically flip into ersatz 1971 items, and a current Widebody equipment permitting fitment of 305-section entrance tires, the Challenger has remained visually the identical since 2008. You’d have to see the idea and the manufacturing mannequin aspect by aspect to see how Challenger was altered for its public debut: The manufacturing automobile is three inches narrower, the B-pillar is wider to make the roof stronger, a stable B-pillar eradicated any hope of a real hardtop, any carbon-fiber items had been swapped for metal on value grounds, and there was appreciable work across the nostril to cut back aerodynamic carry. (With a 170 prime velocity, you don’t want the nostril coming off the bottom.) The fender-mounted gasoline cap on the manufacturing automobiles was a stable callback to the unique E-body. The stylists, led by Jeff (son of Chrysler legend Tom) Gale acquired the proportions proper. Minimizing overhang and pushing the wheels to the sides (each side-to-side and front-to-rear) has given the Challenger a taut, cornering-ready look. Chin and trunk spoilers had been a part of the SRT8 package deal—as had been stripes meant seem like carbon-fiber.
It’s true that different Challenger variations (arguably extra intriguing ones) got here sizzling on the SRT’s heels: 345-horse Hemi fashions with Pistol Grip-shifted six-speed sticks and $30,000 value tags had been accessible through the ’09 mannequin 12 months. It was then off to the races with 6.4-liter engines, supercharged Hellcats, Redeyes, Demons and the like. Challenger’s legacy continues to be being written; the final of them will likely be streaming out of Ontario later this calendar 12 months. Nonetheless, as an announcement to the performance-car world at giant, launching the Challenger solely in SRT8 guise was the bullhorn Dodge wanted to get everybody’s consideration.
Photograph by Jeff Koch
SPECIFICATIONS
Engine: OHV V8, aluminum block and heads, 370 cubic inches
Compression ratio: 10.3:1
Horsepower @ rpm: 425 @ 6,200
Transmission: Mercedes-Benz WA580 five-speed computerized with overdrive and manumatic shifting
Wheelbase: 116 inches
Total size: 197.7 inches
Entrance observe: 63.0 inches
Rear observe: 63.1 inches
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