Challenger Road Tests/Reviews

[AWESOMO 4000]

The Bullitt Mustang is kind of a joke. Just get a regular GT, throw on a cold air kit and a custom tune for $500 total, and you're running low 13's. I think the 09 Challenger R/T with a 6-speed is the way to go for sure.

[Cuda340]

The July 2008 Car and Driver has compared the 2008 Challenger SRT to the Ford Mustang Bullit. Overall, the article rated the Challenger #1 over the Stang.

Here are some of the comments about the Challenger:

"The Highs- The thrusty 6.1 powerhouse, the purposeful highway stride, the crowd that gathers.

The strutting '70s showoff, gone for 35 years, is back with a slick new act.

The structure is Diebold solid, the steering cuts like a Mayo surgeon, the ride comes with discipline rather than abuse, and the sounds whisper of capability in the waiting. The new coupe's modern bones give a balance of performance entirely new to this model.

Unlike the dual-quad 426 Hemi of 1970- you had to push throght two stiff detents in the carb linkage to get all 8 barrels open- the 6.1 Hemi just pours it on, 425 horses in increments as slender as one or two from the wonderfully gradual throttle.

This is an heroic performer: 4.8 sec. to 60 and on through the quarter in 13.3 sec. at 108 mph...even a blueprint 426 wouldn't match today's 6.1 liter SRT8."

Here are the final comparison results:


0-30 0-60 0-100 1/4 mi. 5-60 (roll) 30-50 50-70 Top Speed

SRT 2.0 4.8 11.4 13.3@108 5.1 2.3 2.8 168

Stang 2.0 5.0 12.3 13.6@104 5.4 8.3 8.5 151

As you can see by the numbers, the Stang acquitted itself quite well. Although it has less hp at 315, it weighs about 600 lbs less (3,536 vs. 4,189). This produces an advantage in lbs per bhp of 11.2 vs. 9.9 (SRT).

[Cuda340]

Have you guys noticed from reading all of the road tests how consistent the Challenger is in the 1/4 mile? Almost every test comes in around 13.3 sec. @108 mph. I guess its the autostik.

[340EBody]

Car and Driver says:
This is an heroic performer: 4.8 sec. to 60 and on through the quarter in 13.3 sec. at 108 mph...even a blueprint 426 wouldn't match today's 6.1 liter SRT8."

C&D is one of the worst.

I know the car rags like to insist that the 6.1 is the highest horsepower V8 Chrysler has produced, but it just isn't so. A 426 Hemi actually exceeds todays 6.1 liter. Even the SRT engineers admitted that. They dynoed a 6.1 liter in the same fashion as the old engines had been done and found that the 6.1 made 467hp @ 6000rpm. Interestingly enough, the 426 made the same hp at the same rpm. The difference was that the 6.1 was finished at that point, whereas the hp on the 426 was still climbing. The 426 Wedge (1962-64) also likely meets the 6.1L, but max hp was never stated on these engines. They claimed 425 at 5000rpm or so, but they weren't finished at that point either. When they could get traction, some of the old cars would meet or exceed the SRT8's.

Anyone see the road test in the July issue of Road & Track? They ran a new Challenger and the old #77 Trans Am Challenger on Infineon Raceway in California. Sam Posey, one of Dodge's original SCCA drivers, drove both cars. He liked the new one a lot, said it was very neutral and didn't have any problems, but he also mentioned that "the old car will just blast past you".

The old racecar was a stock Challenger with a roll cage, no interior panels (except aluminum), and a destroked 340 engine making 450-475hp. A pretty cool article. One of the pictures is really cool showing the rear of both cars parked together. The lower and wider aspect of the 1970 model is glaringly apparent in this photo. But, like my Charger, the new car is a lot more streetable and comfortable to drive.

[Cuda340]

Top Gear Review (by that British guy):

"Just got back home after driving the SRT-8 Challenger at Willow Springs Raceway and I've got a few things to add to the story you'll see in the May's Top gear magazine.
When I wrote that, we had only had a relatively sedate drive in the car, which was more of a pre-production model.

Now I've had an unlimited blast in the later SRT-8 Challenger on the canyons above LA and on this old, fast raceway, I've got to know the car a lot better and, it's fair to say, I like it.

It's not perfect - the seats are too short to support your thighs properly, and you could lose a country in the gap between second and third gears - but other than some other very minor grumbles, it goes like a train. I even got to like the interior, which isn't fabulously authentic but screwed together so well, it feels like it'll last. That's progress.
But the really write-home point that quickly became clear yesterday was just how well this car handles at all speeds. Yes, it's got some slack in the suspension to mop up bumps on the road, but once it's settled, you can steer just as much with the throttle as you can with the wheel.

Not in the guns 'n' glory style of the cart-sprung Mustang, but in a way that's not apparent in any other muscle car I've ever driven. I was expecting it to be all show and then get badly out of shape at the track. That just didn't happen.
We were hitting almost 130mph on the entrance to the monstrous Turn 8, but the 4,000lb+ Challenger was happy to take the abuse for as long as we cared to hand it out. If you tried to do that in most production Mustangs, they'd still be picking up the pieces in a year. It's not that the Mustang's not huge fun - it is. It's just that the Challenger is miles better.

This isn't down to expensive components, even though it does have independent rear suspension and some big-name bits like the Brembo brakes and Goodyear F1 tyres. It's how the engineers have tuned it all that really makes the difference. The bits we never talk about, like the bushings and the springs and the aerodynamics.

And the people. The SRT-8 Challenger chassis was developed by a team led by Erich Heuschele. Erich is clearly petrol-powered and was probably an engine in a previous life. The way he describes how he got this big, heavy car to top 170 mph and corner like something half the size and weight is like listening to your best mate describing a big night out.

The Challenger reeks of that kind of enthusiasm, which inspires you to enjoy it not just on the outside for the killer looks, but also the inside too, where it counts. No question, this is the new benchmark muscle car."

[340EBody]

Here's another one:

Winding Road - July 2008

[Cuda340]

The July 2008 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines had an article about the 2008 Challenger SRT entitled "Dream Realized." The article had a lot of great photos. Here are some excerpts:

"What you see here is a low, lithe beast, an asphalt-eating afterlife apparition, a ghost of the better end of the 70s looking to trick you into thinking you're a kid again."

"Inside there's a far more luxurious feel than any original E-body imparts."

"Pushing the wheels out to the edges of the chassis surely helps the handling but it did bupkis for interior room."

"Anything SRT puts out is a party on wheels and we've raved about their output before on these pages."

"The 150-pound weight savings over the LX (Charger 300, or Magnum) might help account for a piece of the Challengeer's sub-5.0-second 0-60 run."

"The push of a button turns off the traction control and lets the smoke show commence. Yee-haw!"

"No one who buys one as a cross-country cruiser, a daily commuter, or for the odd dragstrip trial will be disappointed by any aspect of the Challenger's performance, barring perhaps gas mileage."

"It feels very much like a car that works with its size, rather than transcends it. It's plenty taut and controllable, and only those with fists made of ham will threaten to put it into Jersey barrier."

"It's considerably happier cruising at 90mph(ish) on the open road. It's respectably firm as you go, but outright harshness has been dialed out, despite the 45-series rubber."

"Still, though it never gets sloppy or out of breath, you never quite shake the sense that the Challenger is working harder than perhaps it ought to be. We can't help but wonder what this engine would feel like in something that checks in around, oh, 3,500 pounds."

"The SRT is very good, despite is largesse, but our eyes are cast elsewhere in the Challenger lineup. Will the R/T shape up to be the performance bargain of what may well be the last great performance-car era pf our lifetimes? We're hopeful."

[340EBody]

Originally Posted by Cuda340

The July 2008 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines had an article about the 2008 Challenger SRT entitled "Dream Realized." The article had a lot of great photos. Here are some excerpts:

"The 150-pound weight savings over the LX (Charger 300, or Magnum) might help account for a piece of the Challengeer's sub-5.0-second 0-60 run."

150lb weight savings? He musta hit the "0" by accident. Still, you'd think their proof readers might catch it.

Too bad there isn't a 150lb weight diff.

[Cuda340]

Base model Challenger to cost $21,995

Eric Morath / The Detroit News

BIRMINGHAM -- Chrysler LLC announced this morning that the base-model of its retro-styled muscle car, the Dodge Challenger, will start at $21,995.
That 2009 Dodge Challenger SE has a 3.5-liter V-6 engine that produces 250 horsepower. The vehicle should hit dealer lots in September or October.
"For less than $22,000, we've brought Dodge Challenger back and loaded it with head-napping styling and cutting-edge technology," said Mike Accavitti, director of the Dodge brand.
In highlighting details of the 2009 Challenger lineup this morning, Accavitti noted that the attention-grabbing, V-6 version coupe could be had for the same price as the fully loaded Dodge Caliber compact.
Its starting price, along with its highway fuel economy of 25 miles per gallon, should attract gas and cost-conscious younger buyers, Accavitti said.
The automaker also will sell two higher performance version of the Challenger as well.
The 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T starts at $29,995 and has a 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine. The 375-horsepower machine will be available in a manual and will be touched up with 18-inch aluminum wheels and a rear spoiler.
The 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT-8 starts at $39,995 and is the same as the limited edition, 425-horsepower muscle car that just arrived on dealer lots as a 2008 -- but with some new features, including a pistol-grip shifter and new color choices, including High-Performance Red and B5 Blue.
Chrysler already sold its entire 6,400-unit run of the 2008 Challenger, even though it will work until July to fill those orders. The company already collected 7,000 preorders for the 2009 versions. Accavitti said he expect the R/T to be the highest volume seller of the the three.


And this article for the real deal (SRT)
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Scott Burgess

Muscle car is what's right about Detroit


When I drove the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 in Pasadena, Calif., a Ford Mustang stopped in its tracks.
In Detroit, it stopped a fire truck. And cops. And minivans and nearly everyone else.
While making a video of the Challenger for The Detroit News Web site, we parked a black SRT8 and an orange SRT8 in front of Nemo's on Michigan Avenue in Corktown.
People craned their necks, their mouths agape as they wistfully looked out the window at the pair. Grown men shook their heads and cursed after gazing upon the Challengers. A crowd of 20-somethings gathered around, cell phones in hand, snapping pictures. One young woman draped herself across the hood, in a clothed re-enactment of a rumored pose at the 2006 Detroit auto show.

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There's a long list of reasons not to like the new Challenger but none of them have anything to do with the car's beauty. They have to do with high gas prices, homeless polar bears, and a stunted car market, which will sell 1 million fewer cars in 2008 than it did in 2007.
Critics will point at the Dodge Challenger and shout in a voice louder than a V-8: "See, that's what's wrong with Detroit."

But after driving the new Challenger around the Motor City, collecting a thumbs-up from a police officer, compliments from a Culligan water delivery man, and listening to the fond memories of a Chrysler worker about making a 440-cubic-inch engine, I have to disagree.
The Dodge Challenger iswhat's right about Detroit.
Challenger inspires

I haven't drunk too much Kool-Aid, and I haven't put on a pair of rosy sunglasses. And yes, I am guilty of wanting Detroit's carmakers to do more than just survive.
This Challenger is right because it inspires. It connects to the young and old alike. How many cars can raise the pulse of a grandfather and his grandson at the same time? This Challenger does that.
This car builds buzz. It can pull people into dealerships. And Dodge needs people talking about its brand with admiration, not disdain. Many will come to realize the Challenger is not the practical machine of their dreams -- or just not available -- so they may take a look at something else in the Dodge showroom. The 2008 Challenger SRT8, which went on sale last month, is sold out.
There will be Challengers this summer that cost half the sticker price of the SRT8 and achieve 18 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway (of course, that's with the V-6).
Dodge has no ambitions to make a million Challengers -- it might like that, but the company is smart enough to know the Challenger will fit nicely in a niche. It's a different niche, then say, hybrids, but still a small segment that appeals to people who like cars that haven't been emasculated by the government, environmentalists or high fuel prices.
It has emotional connection

There is no other Dodge on the road today that connects emotionally to so many onlookers. Cars can meet a consumer's need or emotion. The Challenger brings out the best design cues for an American car built by an American company.
Now, I realize a lot of Michiganians might reminisce a little too long, thinking about the good ol' days instead of the present ones. And it's easy to finger point at the past mistakes of the domestic automakers. Chrysler LLC has no subcompact. Neither does Ford Motor Co. None of the compacts by the Big Three top the list of best vehicle in that segment.
But the Challenger does exactly what it was designed to do: make you ogle.
I don't know if even one person out of the dozens I met and talked to about the new Challenger SRT8 will buy one. But I know they're thinking a lot differently about Dodge.
And in the auto industry, where perception becomes reality, building a car people admire is a good start.
Scott Burgess is the auto critic for The Detroit News. He can be reached at (313) 223-3217 Detroit News Online | Detnews.com | Thursday, June 12, 2008 | News, sports, features, blogs, photos and forums from Detroit and across Michigan.

[425hpChargerSRT8]

very nice article, thanks cuda