The Challenger SRT8 marked the official return last year of the musclecar to the Dodge lineup, and its retro styling, 425-horsepower V8 and tire-shredding capabilities had Mopar enthusiasts giddy with excitement. What, you say, could be much better? Enter Classic Design Concepts. The Novi, Michigan-based company has been adding its visual touch to cars since 1990, and recently tried its hand at Dodge's new musclecar. The result? The Group 2 Widebody Challenger that made its debut at SEMA in 2008. We were instantly smitten with the car's aggressive appearance on the show floor, and were determined to get a closer look if we ever had the chance. Jumping forward a couple of months, we recently learned that the car would be out in Southern California for a Mopar gathering. A phone call to CDC later and we were fortunate enough to land an afternoon behind the wheel of this 575-horsepower bona fide modern musclecar.



Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc

Excessive power is just enough, right? If you abide by that rule of thumb, perhaps you'd be interested in RDP Motorsport's latest offering, which trumps the Challenger's SRT8's 6.1L Hemi and its 425 horsepower with a stroked version displacing a classic 440 cubic inches. That block is topped with a duo of superchargers that offer an astounding 1,000 horsepower. Oh yeah, it's also boosted with two nitrous kits. That's enough grunt to catapult the portly Challenger down the 1/4 mile in the nines, and if that's not fast enough for you, we suggest therapy.

This outrageous pony car was recently unveiled at the PRI Show in Florida and is definitely a bit overkill for most people's needs. So, while the Australian company will be happy to replicate this powertrain combination for you for a price, it's good to know that RDP will work with you to design pretty much whatever you need on a custom basis. Check out the video after the break for more.

[Source: RDP Motorsport via Challenger Blog via Motor Authority]

Back in September we reviewed the V6-powered Dodge Challenger SE, and our conclusion was that an uninspiring engine and benign handling was trumped by terrific curb appeal and an affordable price tag. The R/T model we reviewed yesterday fared even better, with a near perfect combination of brawn and beauty. It was fun spending time behind the wheel of both the SE and R/T models, but we knew we had to get our hands on a fire-breathing, 425-hp 6.1L HEMI V8 to see how capable the Challenger could be at full tilt. After all, there are few things in life better than classic muscle car looks combined with a brute-force V8. And if there are two available V8 engines, it just makes sense that we'd prefer the Challenger with the most powerful powerplant. Did Dodge hit the mark with its top Challenger? We welcomed the Challenger SRT8 into the Autoblog Garage to find out for ourselves.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Chris Shunk / Weblogs, Inc.

A few days ago we showed you some pics of the Dodge EV concept at a local car show in Southern California. It appears that the Dodge-branded, battery-powered Lotus Europa made a few other stops in the area as well, one of which was at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Alongside the EV, the Dodge boys were displaying, among other things, a Challenger SRT-8. Well, one thing led to another and before long a battle between '60s retro muscle and modern electric power was underway. Lucky for us, someone was there with a video camera to capture the fraternal pissing match. This impromptu drag race doesn't give us any clear indication of times, but you can definitely see the EV's advantage of light weight and instant-on torque from a stop. The concept electric vehicle jumps ahead at the start, but the Challenger hangs on. Just when the big HEMI seems to be getting a full head of steam, however, they run out of space. We've embedded the video for you after jump. Check it out and let us know how you think this battle would play out on a real 1/4 mile drag strip.


[Source: ALLPAR]

Top Gear is widely regarded as the best television show ever produced about cars. The production values are outstanding, the hosts are amusing and their tamed racing driver, "the Stig", is amazing to watch as he improves his mind while hustling cars around the test track. A few months back we all got wind that Jeremy, Richard and James had returned to the U.S. for another road trip. This time around they headed to the West Coast to drive a new Corvette ZR1, Cadillac CTS-V and Dodge Challenger SRT-8 from San Francisco to the Bonneville Salt Flats. Along the way, Jezza decided to stop at some desolate spot somewhere in Nevada or Utah to lay down some black lines on the pavement. Now while we generally love to watch Mr. Clarkson playing with fast cars, he doesn't quite seem to have mastered the art of the burnout. If you start about 9 minutes into the first clip after the jump and continue to the second and third videos, you'll see our favorite limey trio attempting to shred their tires during last night's second episode of Series 12 (Download via bittorrent here). Compared to Clarkson in the ZR1, Hammond and May were utterly hopeless in their Challenger SRT-8 and Cadillac CTS-V, respectively. After that, watch the last video with GM's Chris Berube showing us all how it's done properly in both the ZR1 Vette and Caddy CTS-V.

[Source: YouTube]

That thing got a Hemi in it?
Nope. Doesn't need one. It has a Viper V10.
Oh. Ohhhhh.

The Challenger SRT10 Concept, as you no doubt know, sports the 8.4L V10 engine from the Viper SRT10. All 600 horsepower and 560 lb-ft of torque in that retro mod muscle car is probably too much power for the Challenger's rear tires, so expect smokey skies to always accompany overambitious throttle inputs. Besides the obviously welcome Viper mill, the Challenger SRT10 concept features a carbon fiber front splitter and rear deck lid, a new rear spoiler, BILSTEIN shocks at all four corners, larger wheels, bigger brakes and quad exhaust tips out back. There's also carbon fiber trim inside the cockpit along with new sports seats and a red engine push-button start just like in the Viper. It all ads up to one seriously awesome piece of retro goodness. Check out the gallery of live shots and the full press release after the jump.



Photos copyright ©2008 Frank Filipponio/Weblogs, Inc.

Click above for a high resolution image

Hurst is no stranger to offering up special edition Mopars. The 1970 Chrysler 300 Hurst packed a 440ci "TNT" V8 with 375 horsepower, as well as a fiberglass hood and trunk, Satin Tan leather interior, and a Spinnaker-White paint scheme with gold trim. Ok, that was nearly 40 years ago, but Hurst is still going strong and planning to renew its Mopar connection with a limited edition Dodge Challenger that will make its debut at SEMA this year. The Hurst Challenger will be available in four trim levels and include features like a supercharger system good for 500 horsepower, 5-spoke Hurst alloy wheels, and a "Pistol-Grip" Hurst shifter. Pricing will start at a $10,000 premium over the stock Challenger and could go as high as $20,000 for the top level model. Follow the jump for the press release from Hurst.

[Source: Hurst via Edmunds.com]

Click the Challenger for a high res gallery

During the recent What's New event at Chrysler's Chelsea Proving Ground, we had the opportunity to sample the new Dodge Challenger SRT-8. For the 2008 model year, Chrysler is only building SRT-8 versions of the Challenger with a combination of the 6.1L HEMI V8 and a five-speed automatic transmission. We first saw the production version of the Challenger earlier this year at the Chicago Auto Show and while we thought the styling was great with perfect muscle car proportions, it is undoubtedly a big car. The Challenger is built on Chrysler's LX platform shared with the 300 and Charger. Compared to the Mustang it looks huge and it hardly seems like it would actually feel sporty.

Fortunately, the dynamic behavior of large cars has made huge strides since the original Challenger went away in the mid-seventies. We first tried out the Challenger on the road at Chelsea before taking it for a hot lap around the evaluation track. The circuit was built back in the early '90s when a certain gentleman named Lutz was still occupying an office on the top floor of Chrysler's headquarters. It's basically a lovely little natural terrain road course, not quite as elaborate as the new road course that Maximum Bob built at the GM Proving Ground, but it's a good way to get a dynamic feel for a car. After lunch we had another opportunity to thrash the Challenger on the autocross course that Chrysler set up on the vehicle dynamics pad. Find out how the Challenger did after the jump, along with some video of our time behind the wheel.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8.

For those of you desperately waiting for the next batch of Dodge Challenger SRT8s to be built after the announcement that the first 6,400 2008 models were already spoken for, fret not, supply is on your side. The Detroit News is reporting that while the majority of limited edition SRT8s were already sold before they were built, about one-quarter of the Challengers were set aside for dealer orders.

Several retailers across the U.S. have between two and twenty Challengers sitting on the lot, with one dealer advertising in Michigan's Macomb Daily that nine Brilliant Black, eight Hemi Orange and two Silver Metallic HEMI-powered coupes are available for the taking. Naturally, supply is dependent on where you live. One dealer in Naples, Florida sold out all eight Challengers in three days, while others have only sold only one out of their allotment. And just because you can find one, doesn't mean it will be selling for sticker. Markups are to be expected, with one dealer charging $45,145 – or about $7,000 – above the SRT8's MSRP.


[Source: Detroit News]

Click above for high-res gallery of Autoblog autocrossing

Yesterday at Chrysler's annual media gathering to show off new products at the its proving grounds in Chelsea, MI, the struggling automaker wanted to demonstrate the performance capabilities of its SRT branded vehicles. SRT staff set up an autocross course on the vehicle dynamics pad and brought out examples of every SRT vehicle from the Caliber SRT-4 to the mighty Dodge Viper ACR. Before we were allowed to hop in the cars, we had listen to a short briefing that described the course and some safety rules. And before being allowed to climb into the big snake, we had to complete at least a couple of laps in one of the five Challenger SRT-8s to get familiarized with the course. For a big 4,140-lb coupe, the Challenger proved surprisingly nimble. We learned that with the electronic stability control enabled, it's almost impossible to get the back end to swing wide. The stability control has two alternative modes. The first is engaged by a momentary stab of ESP button and allows some extra slip before intervening, while pressing and holding the ESP button for five seconds completely disables the stability and traction control leaving only the ABS. Read what happens (and watch the tire-burning videos) after the jump.