First of all, lets get one thing straight. The Challenger Concept is hardly a concept, but rather a fully-fledged prototype of what we all know is Dodges answer to Fords Mustang. Whether DaimlerChrysler has been planning a two-door muscle car all along, even before the all-new Mustang hit the streets just over a year ago, is anyones guess outside of Auburn Hills hallowed halls, but one things for sure, Dearborns ability to sell over 165,000 coupes annually, and in so doing garner 44 percent of a small specialty segment that previously seemed to be all but dying with lackluster sales of Pontiacs GTO, Toyotas Celica (now canceled), Hyundais Tiburon and others, made bringing the Challenger to market a certainty.
Not surprisingly, the new Challenger is as aptly named now as it was in its past when it debuted in 1969 as a 1970 model (alongside the enlarged E-body Plymouth Barracuda which shared platforms and its general shape) to "challenge" the pony cars of the era, namely the fastback Mustang, first and foremost, as well as Chevys Camaro, Pontiacs Firebird, and to a lesser extent AMCs Javelin, not to mention that last manufacturers 12-inch shorter two-seat AMX built off the Javelins platform.
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