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Challenger Design Manager: On Production Model Design

2K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  SIX-PAK 
#1 ·
Here's an interesting article when Chrysler's Mike Ellis sat down with Jeff Gale, Lead Designer for Exteriors, and asked him about the dynamic design direction on the all-new Dodge Challenger.
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Keeping it Real with the Challenger

By Jeff Gale - Lead Designer for Exteriors

February 25 2008, 6:15AM

Q – Taking on a challenge like this, on this kind of car, that must have been a little bit exciting, but also nerve-wracking. What went through your mind?

Jeff – Brian (Nielander, Manager of the Challenger design program) and I had a hell of a lot of fun with this car. Back in January of ’06, right after the auto show, we had all salivated over the car over the auto show. It’s like, oh man, how cool that would be to bring that back.
Just to be frank, when we got the word, we thought, oh my God. And then when we were the studio that was going to get it, I got named exterior, Brian leading the project. We couldn’t have asked for a better program to work on. You think about bringing back such a car, you think about bringing back a car like that over the LX architecture, with the SRT powertrain underneath it, you can’t ask for a better program to work on.

So, it was very exciting for us. And we already had a road map for us in the concept that was based on the LX platform already to some extent. We had to modify it some. We pushed and pulled lines here and there. The width of the car – the concept was a little bit wider than we needed, we wanted to lighten the weight a little bit, keep it over LX architecture, have all the suspension carry through. All the best stuff, Brembo brakes that are over 14-inches diameter in the front, 20-inch wheels on the car, braking performance you get out of that. And of course the look of the car.

When you look at the car, it’s in a lot of ways, people in design office have told us that some even like it better than the concept. For us, just to be able to work on the program was enough. And it was just awesome. But to have it over this platform. They gave us the things that we needed to carry through the design to production.”


Q – The concept was there, and you were named the exterior designer after you saw the concept.

Jeff – It was right after. It was in January of 2006. It was basically our task to take the concept car, and we took the math data that we had for that car, and we also had the original clay model of the concept, after it was cast, shipped to Detroit. We had it in the studio. We brought in ’70 to’71 Challengers from time to time, just to be able to look at them for inspiration. You see the fuel cap there. That really came as a good inspiration. It was kind of one of those signature cues we wanted to get on the car that the concept car didn’t have.

They had looked at it on the concept, but had wanted to make it a little more pure. We brought it back on this. It’s actually a metal piece, not plastic. Looking back at that program, getting word to do it, and then hearing that you’re going to be the lead exterior designer was just awesome. We had kind of the road map laid, there wasn’t really a theme period that we had to do. The theme was already done for us.

Basically, we were almost like curators in a museum. It was just how do massage things the right way, and get it to work production wise, stamping. Aerodynamics was a huge task. But we got in all the work, and all the details there, and the theme intact.”


Q – What is some of the research you did in this vehicle. You mentioned bringing some Challengers into the studio?

Jeff – “I have a ’70 Road Runner. And it’s just having that as inspiration. I go to some of the car shows, and car groups, get a look at Challengers every now and then, but they are pretty rare. So it’s hard to find them.

We managed to bring in a few, whether it was walking over to the Museum, and seeing an orange T/A that they had over there. They had an orange HEMI T/A. You see a little bit of that in this car. The flat black, the graphics on the hood. The spoiler on the rear is very T/A inspired and also is a very, very functional piece for aerodynamics. That solves our rear lift issue with having the shape of the back of the car the way it is. That was a piece that was not only something people remember in the original cars and the T/A, we brought it back, it’s there, and it’s actually a functional piece.

Overall, the image wise, we drew from the ’70 Challenger, which you see in the grille and the taillight, the center-mounted reverse light in that full-width bar is very similar to what the ‘70 had, and even the grille itself, the texture relates back to what the car originally had in 1970, which is also of course what the concept car used, less the crosshair.”
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Rambit
 
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#5 ·
I hear that ! It would be sacrilege to the gods of purity heheh
I don't recall from the vids though (just me not remembering) so I can't say what he meant , maybe I'll watch'em again later ..... sooo many videos out there it's craaazyyyy :)
 
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