Challenger no willy nilly Charger
This is what I am talking about...
WOW! I reckon if you are ever going to go retro then you should do it with a bang! This thing is every after-market tuners dream...stunningly done! I would hook up to one anyday...
South Africa
Thursday, 12 January, 2006
There were a few muscle car enthusiasts who were disappointed that the 21st-century version of the Dodge Charger turned out to be just a tricked-out 300C. Dodge put things right at Detroit this year, and reincarnated the Challenger to remain true to the 1970 original.
CARtoday.com reported last year that the four-door Charger, which was closely based on its cousin, the Chrysler 300C, had a chromed egg-crate front grille, muscular rear wheelarches, coupé-like styling, and would be offered with a 186 kW 3,5-litre V6 or 254 kW 5,7-litre Hemi V8 engine and a five-speed automatic transmission
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In the words of a US commentator, “the Challenger (is a) Hemi-powered beast of a four-seat coupe for which we’ve all been screaming since the awkward silence that greeted the début of the highly anticipated Charger as a four-door saloon”.
In concept guise, Challenger’s wheelbase is 10,2 cm shorter than that of the Charger or 300C, with which it shares its rear-wheel drive LX platform. And, compared with the original 1970 Challenger, the concept is 15,3 cm shorter and 5 cm wider. As a result of the concept’s squat and robust dimensions, it has the kind of styling for which the original Challenger is remembered.
Like Challengers past, this concept packs more than its share of muscle under the hood in the form of an SRT-tuned 6,1-litre, 317 kW, 570 N.m Hemi V8, linked to a six-speed manual transmission. Chrysler estimates the fully-functional concept should bolt from zero to 100 km/h in 4,5 seconds and reach a top speed of 280 km/h.
“During the development of the concept car,” says Micheal Castiglione, principal exterior designer of the Challenger, “we brought an actual 1970 Challenger into the studio. For me, that car symbolizes the most passionate era of automotive design.”
One of the key characteristics of the original car the designers wanted to retain was the exceptionally wide look of both the front and back ends. The designers increased the front and rear tracks, lengthened the front overhang and added the signature horizontal “thrust” line that creases the bumper and door and kicks up just ahead of the rear wheel. Twin diagonal scoops fitted with functional butterfly valve intakes accent the long, low bonnet.
Inside, deep gauge holes, a leather-wrapped steering wheel (with ribbed steering column) and a pistol-grip shift handle evoke Challengers of old.
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Source: CARtoday.com
South Africa's leading motoring website
Thursday, January 12, 2006
