Click above for gallery of Challenger SRT8 #0001 in its new home
The very first production 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 has already been built and shipped to an AZ dealership, but it's not for sale. The first Challenger was won at auction by none other than Barrett-Jackson CEO Craig Jackson, and the world-famous auctioneer can pick up his prized $400,000 pony car at Ed Moses Dodge in Scottsdale, AZ whenever he's ready. Dodge Challenger SRT8 numero uno is completely loaded, black with a gray stripe down the center, and the plastic condoms have yet to be removed from the steering wheel and driver's seat.
Jackson wasn't the only high-profile celebrity to snap up an early Challenger SRT8, either. As you read on Autoblog earlier, Jay Leno received Challenger #0002 this week, and the comedian/car nut has already parked his new toy at The Tonight Show headquarters in Burbank, CA. Check our gallery below for pics of the Challenger One in its temporary home and click the Source link below for more. Thanks for the tip, Marshall!
[Source: LX Forums]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Adam @ Jun 4th 2008 11:06AM
As much as I like this car, you are and absolute twat to pay that much for a Challenger.
mkg614 @ Jun 4th 2008 1:31PM
yeah, because supporting the charity NotMyKid, a mental health advocacy group, makes him such a twat.
http://www.barrett-jackson.com/media/pressreleases/011108_Detroit3.asp
Adam @ Jun 4th 2008 1:34PM
Okay, I didn't know it was for charity. Thanks for the clarification. Now I'm the one who looks like a twat.
Vintage @ Jun 4th 2008 11:08AM
No he's not, he's just going to stick it in a cubby hole and auction it off a few years from now for twice that to an even bigger idiot.
Flashpoint @ Jun 4th 2008 11:16AM
I'm absolutely SHOCKED how much treatment the Challenger is getting.
The Challenger is nothing more than a chopped down Charger SRT8 with a different body kit and a few changes to the mechanisms.
ITS THE SAME ENGINE.
ITS THE SAME CHEAP PLASTIC INTERIOR.
You'd have to be retarded to spend this much for a Challenger - unless it was marked #1 in production and was signed by EVERYONE in the Chrysler design team as well as the company heads.
I could see spending this much for a Maybach or a Phantom...but this is madness.
That's like someone spending $100,000 on the first Scion XB to hit the market.
AND I TOTALLY AGREE WITH VINTAGE.
tankd0g @ Jun 4th 2008 11:35AM
The funny thing is, if you could get somemone to buy the first Scion xB for $100,000 at Barret Jackson, it would instantly be worth that and go for more at subsequent auctions. It's a little like the art world in that all anything is worth is what you can fool someone into paying for it with lots of hype and BS.
SayWhat? @ Jun 4th 2008 12:42PM
Hey, Flashpoint! Are you really shocked as to the amount of press treatment the new Challenger is getting? Shocked over what? The Camaro or Mustang?
Today the Challenger has center stage. Tomorrow it will be something else. In the meantime, for those of us who like the car, please allow us to savor the moment. And for those who don't, just take a number and bear with us for a while. Your "ooooh and aaaah" moment is coming.
carsteve @ Jun 4th 2008 11:25AM
I'm pretty happy with my decision to buy a Cayman S over one of these. All due respect to the Challenger. It's an awesome looking car with great power, but it's overweight and the interior is no different from the other LX cars. Being overweight can be forgiven, but what really made the decision to not get one for me was the interior. .
Come on, Chrysler, throw something unique inside of your new, uniquely styled car. I don't want to feel like I'm in the Charger SRT8 I test drove a few months ago when I'm driving my new Challenger.
remo @ Jun 4th 2008 1:43PM
caymans are for women. get a 911 or if u cant afford it get a muscle car.
carsteve @ Jun 4th 2008 2:01PM
@ Remo: That is a pretty unintelligent, useless comment.
@ My original post: Each car has its own target market and characteristics. I really like the Challenger, and was ready to get one, until I was swayed away by the interior. Not to mention the $50K price quotes I was getting from all the local dealers (car isn't worth more than it's approx. $39K MSRP). Like any car, the Challenger has its strong and weak points. The Challenger's weak point(s) happen to be its interior.
Way of the Future @ Jun 4th 2008 2:09PM
ummm the cayman is a fantastic car and can out handle pretty much any car on the road, so i would not go into biased opinions about a vehicle.
Ormond @ Jun 4th 2008 11:25AM
It's too bad the car arrives when gas is so expensive. Detroit is always a couple years behind the curve.
However, the outside styling is great. I'll take one in orange.
I think the high bid went to charity.
jonathan charak @ Jun 4th 2008 11:56AM
I'm pretty sure Chrysler's bottom line needs charity as well
bill @ Jun 4th 2008 11:50AM
I gotta say I am bored to tears with the new Camaro & Challenger. Any bunch of bozos can design a 3900 lb car and stuff a honking V8 into it. The original Challenger was not much of a seller for reasons that look similar to today - high gas prices and new emission and mpg requirements.
rar @ Jun 4th 2008 12:15PM
Bill, I was wondering, if the Challenger bores you to tears, why did you look at this post? Did you feel the need to cry some more? There are a lot of posts on this blog where the car does not intrest me in the least, so I don't even look at them. Also, keep in mind the Challenger is built at a flex plant with the Charger and the 300. If they don't sell that many, they don't make that many.
TriShield @ Jun 4th 2008 12:04PM
I'm pretty sure if someone wants to spend that much of their own money on the first production example of a car they are free to do so, that doesn't make them a twat but it might make the person complaining about it on the internet one.
jsjs @ Jun 4th 2008 1:20PM
"...that doesn't make them a twat but it might make the person complaining about it on the internet one."
----------------
Interesting words - coming from someone many here would characterize as the "resident twat".
Guenther @ Jun 4th 2008 12:24PM
Things I wanted to point out-
-->This #1 will stay in its wrapper like a Star Wars Action Figure for speculative sale, while Lenno already drove his #2 (no pun) to work.
-->#1 is showing up after #2.
-->Some nit-wit put the caution tape up upside-down
It would be a shame if one of those posts holding the caution tape fell over and dinged the car. Oh, the irony...
indymcsc @ Jun 4th 2008 12:35PM
It's always sad to see cars like this end of as garage queens. I hope he drives it at least once.
bill @ Jun 4th 2008 12:35PM
rar, thanks for the comment on my comment. I look at every post because I find every post to be interesting. I agree with many of the posts. I find reason to not agree with other posts. No one has to agree with my comments.