Steep Competition- Good for Us
 

The Challenger will be getting some steep competition come January and that can only be good news for those of us looking to buy a Challenger at that time. :)

Yesterday, Bob Lutz (GM Vice Chairman) has revealed plans for a 2.0 liter turbocharged engine estimated to be around 260 hp.; a 350 hp. V6; and a 400 hp. V8 (L76 6.0 L).

In addition, 8 months after the release of the V6 and V8 Camaro, Chevy will offer a convertible model.

It has also been rumored that a Z28 model will be produced to top the Mustang GT500 and the Challenger SRT by late summer/early Fall of 2009. Supposedly, it will have a supercharged LS3 engine. This engine will produce massive amount of hp and torque- in non-supercharged form it already matches the SRT by producing 430 hp. and 424 lbs. torque.

Dodge better come out with that 6.4L pretty soon or we will be left in the dust! :(

How about a 6.4L supercharged 'Cuda!

RE: Steep Competition- Good for Us
 

They should make the Cuda to compete with cars like that.

RE: Steep Competition- Good for Us
 

it wont matter as long as are cars weigh more then we will always lose

RE: Steep Competition- Good for Us
 

But we'll look so much cooler!! ;) Speaking of competition, this is total wishful thinking, but Pontiac is advertising the G8 GT as "The most powerful car under 30K". A Challenger R/T at $29,999 would steal that title. I doubt it will happen though, except in my dreams.

RE: Steep Competition- Good for Us
 

To add.

The 2010 Stang will be getting a GDI 5.0, 400hp/360tq. That's the buzz on the net. This Fourcam330 guy is suppose to have a great track record in that everything he has predicted has been right. Alot of mods from different boards back him up. Hope it's true!

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums...d.php?t=477049


Also there is suppose to be a 3.5TT engine with about 300hp.

Current lineup:
v6 base line
v6 TT 3.5
5.0 v8 GT
5.4 gt500

The pony wars are back, BABY!!!![sm=happybounce.gif]

RE: Steep Competition- Good for Us
 

What the world really needs is a 2 seat, rear engine sports car that has a super sexy body like a Ferrari, costs between $30K to $40K, has between 300 to 425 HP, has all-wheel drive for fast accelleration, a nice interior, and a good color selection. I think a lot of people would be all over that like white on rice. And as far as I know, nothing like that exists. I wish it did. Lately I've been seriously lusting after the Corvette ZR1. Normally I don't care for Corvettes, but the ZR1 is extremely sexy. The Nissan GTR has awesome engineering, but it is an ugly duckling inside and outside. No charisma at all. The new Camaro is a goofy, chunky looking car that looks like it came out of a kid's cartoon show or something. No way am I buying a car that looks like that. If they came out with a new Trans Am that looks a lot like the 1978 Trans Am, I'd be all over that. How come GM put such a sexy body on the Corvette ZR1 but such a dumb body on the Camaro? It's like they are deliberately REFUSING to make a car look really hot unless you pay $100K or more. And if you pay only $20K, you usually get a really stupid looking car that has "I am so lame" written all over it. It's like some kind of conspiracy is going on.

RE: Steep Competition- Good for Us
 

I had a 78 trans am.Was probably the nicest,quickest and most dependable car i ever owned. Damn thing never gave me a lick of trouble. Those were, in my opinion the best years for the trans am. They sure dont build-em like that anymore............sigh.

RE: Steep Competition- Good for Us
 

Billionaire, they'd be all over that hypothetical car like stink on a monkey, because such a car would be the steal of the century. ;)

To give some basis to compare:

A Porsche Boxster S is a Rear (or Rear-Mid to be technical) engine. It is close to the horsepower target at 295 ponies, but not quite there. No AWD, a body that looks classy, but is not nearly the same "wow factor" as a Ferrari, and the price tag is a starting $55,700. Meets the interior criteria, color selection is so-so. http://www.porsche.com/usa/models/boxster/

One could probably build something somewhat similar for less outside the Porsche brand, but you still have to add additional power, an all wheel drive system, and hire a better stylist to kick-start the styling without any extra cost, and take over $15K off the price. A pretty tall order.


An Audi R8 is pretty much exactly what you're looking for. Exotic design (may not be everyone's cup o' tea, but it could at least be compared to a Ferrari for curb appeal) Rear-Mid Engine pumping 420 hp to a sophisticated AWD system. Interior is great, and you can even customize the side "blade" to a matching or contrasting color (or so I've read in the mags) But it's north of $100 grand. http://www.audiusa.com/audi/us/en2/n...s/Audi_R8.html

Could you build an R8-like car with a cruder level of technology but similar performance? Sure. But it probably wouldn't get below 60K. That would make it an AWD mid-engine Corvette for about the same price. And they don't want to build a mid-engine Vette because it's too expensive And the interior would be about like a Corvette, decent, but a letdown for a car of that performance level.

A Subaru Impreza WRX STi fits the bill for power (barely) and price and AWD, but it's econobox roots are all too apparant in the styling department, and the engine is in front. Color choice is limited, and the interior is...well...alright I guess.

So it would be quite a tall order to build it, and make it profitable at 40K or less. And if you did, you'd have a line around the block to buy them, dealer markups through the roof, and year-long waiting lists. But I'd certainly buy one if such a beast were built.

RE: Steep Competition- Good for Us
 

Billionaire I think that's what muscle cars are for. Yeah they're not exactly what you're looking for but they're the closest automakers ever gotten. The average joe's ferrari. I'm not extremely thrilled about the camaro's styling but it's definitely different and a lot of people seem to like it. The challenger imo is the best looking car in its price range and the mustang's not bad. Do a search for other coupes in production for under 40k. Outside of the muscle cars and maybe the rx8 everything's got pretty much the same restrained coupe styling.

I think it all comes down to, if you could get a car that looks like a ferrari for 40k, who'd buy a ferrari?

RE: Steep Competition- Good for Us
 

Okay guys don't laugh but that is exactly what I thought Ford was going to do when they showed the Ford GT concept. When they finally announced the price I was heart broken.

I wish someone would build such a car. The closest thing I can think of the the Cayman, but it is still too expensive. It is still considered to be one of the best handling cars in the world for under $100K.