http://www.bclocalnews.com/lifestyles/16018257.html
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Dodge up to challenge in ponycar wars
February 27, 2008
Let the Ponycar wars begin!
Has it really been that long?
Has it actually been nearly 40 years since the Dodge Challenger first attempted to muscle its way onto the scene for a share of the Ponycar pie?
For a certain segment of the population that grew up during the last great horsepower battles fought between Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and American Motors, the new Challenger will seem like a time machine that leads straight to the early 1970s.
In those heady days, there were no fewer than eight vehicles in the Ponycar class, so called because the Ford Mustang was the leader of a herd that spawned similar long-hood, short-rear-deck models available with pavement-tearing V8 power.
As retro looking as the new Challenger is, the clock isn’t exactly being turned back.
Instead, key styling elements have been brought forward from the original car to find their way into a completely new and modern two-door model.
Rather than constantly fussing around with an original Challenger from the 1970s — a weekend, sunny-weather car at best — nostalgic babyboomers can buy a new Challenger, loaded with technology and safety features, and drive it any time they like in any season.
The looking-cool factor is a given.
As the current retro-styled Mustang has demonstrated, close physical ties to the past are more than just a good idea: they’re mandatory.
The Challenger’s headlights are round, just like they were always intended to be.
The full-width taillamp and rear spoiler have a familiar look and
the outside mirrors are actually based on moulds pulled from the originals.
One obvious difference is that there’s far less chrome showing
now than on the original, giving
it a bumper-free, slab-sided appearance.
The Challenger is actually built using a shortened version of the Dodge Charger/Chrysler 300 rear-wheel-drive platform, with about
10 centimetres removed from between the front and rear wheels.
The version of the Challenger initially heading to Dodge’s salivating dealers and only in limited numbers, is the high-performance Street and Racing Technology SRT8 (“8” for eight cylinders) iteration.
Anyone familiar with Chrysler’s other SRT8 products, such as the Magnum wagon or Charger sedan, will recognize the Challenger’s interior treatment, especially its thick, heavily bolstered front bucket seats.
Other SRT standard equipment includes a tight suspension package that includes stiff springs, shocks, anti-roll bars and an SRT-specific stability-control system that helps keep the car pointed in the right direction and its over-exuberant drivers out of trouble.
For that final SRT flourish, the Challenger rides on 20-inch wheels and will thankfully stop far better than the original with 14-inch disc brakes at all four wheels.
In true SRT8 tradition, a 6.1-litre V8 “Hemi” with 425 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque is the sole source of motivation.
The engine is connected to a five-speed automatic transmission with manual shift controls that provides at least some simulation of a good-ol’-days manual gearbox, but without the fun of banging the cogs at the redline.
Chrysler states that the Challenger will nail 60 mph (96 km/h) from a standing stop in the low-five-second range, run the quarter-mile (400 metres) in less than 14 seconds and can be brought to a stop from 100 km/h in around 34 metres (110 feet).
At the outset, the Challenger SRT8 will arrive with a full range of standard equipment — air, cruise, keyless remote entry, power-controlled accessories and the like — along with a 322-watt, 13-speaker premium audio system and plenty of safety gear.
Canadian pricing has yet to be announced, although the U.S. price of $38,000 is widely known.
You can expect less-option-filled ver