Challenger Uncovered

[turbo200]

Autoweek has pictures of the new Dodge Challenger. The retro car is completely uncovered, and looking very nice. What do you think?


Rising to the Challenger: Detroit auto show debut for Dodge muscle coupe concept
BOB GRITZINGER
Posted Date: 11/20/05
To all those purists who still can’t forgive Dodge for building a four-door Charger, here’s your answer: the 2006 Dodge Challenger concept. The Dodge boys released a sketch of the car to the world, but we obtained these exclusive spy photos of the car, which will premiere at the North American International Auto Show in January in Detroit.

Challenger draws on the 1970 model as the icon of the series, says Tom Tremont of Chrysler’s Pacifica studio in California. But instead of merely recreating that car, designers tried to build the Challenger most people see in their mind’s eye, without imperfections like the tucked under wheels and long front overhang of the old car. At the same time, the concept incorporates distinctive Challenger cues like the rear fender kick, wide mouth front end, functional hood scoops and rectangular exhaust tips.


Dodge Challenger at Autoweek

[pow]

Ehh, that's a bit too retro.

[bobo]

Agreed. Overcompensating for the Charger.

[Drew Dowdell]

I think it's great!

[turbo200]

I agree, it is too retro. It's a bigger rehash than the Mustang is.

[Flybrian]

This is the third-worst Chrysler concept of recent memory, right behing the Super 8 and Kahuna.

[mustang84]

Wow! I love it, even as retro as it is! I hope we're entering a second muscle car era...first the Mustang, now the Challenger...we just need a Camaro to round it off. The only thing I'd say is TOO retro is the front end, especially the quad round headlamps. If they were something a little more streamlined I think it would do wonders for it. But otherwise, I love everything else about it...the shape, the taillights, the wheels.

[C.H.U.D.]

This looks straight out of 1970. It would look better with a '73-style grille. Still wouldn't like it though. Edited November 21, 2005 by C.H.U.D.

[Northstar]

Ugh. I'll take a Mustang please. The Camaro won't have to worry about this stealing its show.

[CSpec]

Ugh. I bet it has the same crapola interior as the 300/Magnum/Charger/every other DCX car.

[HarleyEarl]

I love it!.....but it's way too literal...almost carbon copy of the original.

[HarleyEarl]

Oh for god sakes, everyone calm down. It's a CONCEPT car.

[post="45930"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

..seems the only one bent out of shape is you.....so calm down.

[Flybrian]

..seems the only one bent out of shape is you.....so calm down.

[post="45931"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

No need for that.

[Flybrian]

Let me know when you learn to read.

[post="45934"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

That too.

C'mon, guys, everyone has their opinion. No need for attitudes.

[HarleyEarl]

You know what Flybrian....just the final straw.....remove my registration from this site. I'm done.

[titan]

Ehh, that's a bit too retro.

[post="45914"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Agreed.

[Variance]

Ehh, that's a bit too retro.

[post="45914"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Really. At least make it look like you tried to modernized it more than that.

[regfootball]

its a waste. more proof that dodge is the true redneck brand

[Sixty8panther]

This is the third-worst Chrysler concept of recent memory, right behing the Super 8 and Kahuna.

[post="45922"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Super 8 and Kahuna were gross, but I LOVE this. (no surprise there)

I think it's about effin time GM makes a retro 1969 Camaro, don;t you?!?! Jesus, worse case if they don't I'll just buy one of these suckas and change about the tail light and headlights to make my OWN retro '69 Camaro.

Drop in an LS7/6spd. manual and VOILA! B)

[mjdecker]

In contrast to the majority.. I LOVE this.. but then, the 70-71 Cuda is my all time favorite car...

One quote from the article that caught my eye...

the Challenger gets a 6.1-liter Hemi hooked to a six-speed manual transmission with a pistol grip shifter.

Edited November 21, 2005 by Decka

[Bimmer325]

Ugh. I don't even think that can be considered retro. It doesn't recall the 1970 Dodge Challenger. That is a 1970 Dodge Challenger. And it's gross. Keep it, Dodge.

[!!!TED!!!]

What the hell!? :o
Its a carbon copy of the original. :blink:
I didn't think it could be done but they did. Round, 70's style headlights and grille on a 2006 car?! :o
That sketch looks very hot. 100% Americana. Makes a bold statement: why try? you cant beat the classics!

And it looks like Doug Shramm was right with his rendering: http://www.creatingthelie.com/auto_gallery...enger_front.htm

[balthazar]

Kinda surprised at some of the reaction/comments. Up until the Banglecide, bmws were pretty much carbon copies of '70s bmws, and many posters here seem to love bmws. Had 4 round headlights over 20 years after rectangulars and over 10 years after molded were legalized. Frankly I find them stylistically archaic (and just downright unpleasant after Banglecide). The Challenger does appear to be an even closer update of the original than the Mustang, but obviously it's different. The basic body lines on the Challenger are so sweet but the front end starts looks pinched and too small for the body in that pic. Would like to see a whole-car shot before passing final judgement.

[JBsZ06]

The New Challenger if built just as the photos show is a big win! Puts everything else under 100 grand on the trailer. Great design. I'd buy one ...with the 425hp Hemi (with automatic though so the wifey could drive it)

[Mule Bakersdozen LS]

I like it, at first I was a bit iffy on the Avenger-concept-inspired grille (ugh), but then I realized, ah...yes that's how the front end was shaped on the 1970-74 originals. Dodge would be very smart to make all their passenger cars of this shape, and put some (more) bodyside curvature in there!

[razoredge]

Kinda surprised at some of the reaction/comments. Up until the Banglecide, bmws were pretty much carbon copies of '70s bmws, and many posters here seem to love bmws. Had 4 round headlights over 20 years after rectangulars and over 10 years after molded were legalized. Frankly I find them stylistically archaic (and just downright unpleasant after Banglecide).

The Challenger does appear to be an even closer update of the original than the Mustang, but obviously it's different. The basic body lines on the Challenger are so sweet but the front end starts looks pinched and too small for the body in that pic. Would like to see a whole-car shot before passing final judgement.

[post="45963"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

:lol: Owch ! Couldnt have said it better. BMW has remained very imbedded in their distinct styling traits, still even today I believe. I like how they look however, not to much not to little.

Anyhow this Challenger is just the ticket for all us "rednecks". come on Reg :rolleyes: I'll be dreaming of them out on the track with the new Stangs sweeping the dirt and stones with BMW butt ! Of course I hope they come with the mandatory Joe Dirt carpet. :P

Oh and I love round headlights. So new and "innovative" :unsure: after 3 decades of rectangles. Which is about all that would work on this kind of facial treatment.

On a very serious note - Harley, retract your statement, ignore the previous, and come hang out, I believe the origional comment about it just being a concept was fairly accurate. Still its hard not to get excited about something that has some character and class for a change. With this car they can put that "300" back on the trailor

[Cadillacfan]

No thank you for me. Though, the fact that now Dodge has an all-american 2-door musclecar and GM still doesn't is heartbreaking. Hurry up with that Camaro GM. You can't afford to be behind any longer.

[DarkAngelCypher]

Looks good for a 70s model, and they did a great job at updating the design for 2005......but can we please have an original design???? The Mustang, while probably a very good job at adding 2005 technology to a 1965 design, what about originality?? I soooo hope the Camaro aint retro...i want a modern interpretation of a muscle car.....honestly the GTO, while people think its bland, is a great example of a MODERN interpretation of a muscle car..... Granted im a bigtime fan of the old classic muscle cars, dont try to repeat history by bringing back retro designs....add to the history of the cars, and do something modern.... personally, whoever chopped the current Charger into a 2door, they hit it right on the head as to what the Challenger should be....do that, and id be waiting on line from today until the day it releases...... But thats just my opinion, I could be wrong

[NOS2006]

I'll hold judgement until I see it in Detroit...

[caddycruiser]

DEFINATELY a bad ass car, but this is just the concept, as has been said. I'll wait until the PRODUCTION version is shown to comment on the final design, but right now, I think it looks fairly good. A little out of proportion and TOO much of the old to some extent, but polish up a few of the lines, paint it some different colors, and give it some cool new wheels, and it really might take off. ESPECIALLY, considering that "if" it does come out, I can only imagine how well DCX will price it.... :AH-HA_wink: ...there will REALLY be lines around the block.

[aaaantoine]

They built that brand new? If I had just seen that car on the road without knowing what it was, I'd have thought that someone took one of the old General Lees and hot-rodded it. And I must point out: the retro craze started 8 years ago with the 1998 New Beetle, and NOT ONE RETRO MODEL HAS BEEN REDESIGNED SINCE 1998. You can't redesign retro. Not significantly. If the sales dwindle, you can do only one of two things: - Release a different variant (PT convertible, New Beetle convertible, Mini convertible...) - Discontinue it outright (Plymouth PT Prowler that Chrysler could have taken, Ford Thunderbird, soon the Chevy SSR)

[Cremazie]

I like it, but it's so retro I could almost see chrome bumpers on it.

[Sixty8panther]

BMWs were not the only cars that remained basically unchabnged without any real "restyle" from the 1960s to the 1990s. Porsche was another and how about Rolls Royce?

If it aint broke, don't fix it. The 1969 Camaro could have sold into the mid 1970s without a restyle but for the sake of change they restyled it almost from the ground up. The Challenger is legendary like the GT40 so it's goign to be retro, then maybe in 2015 they'll do a fresh restyle that will go off in another direction.

For waht it's worht I always thought the '70 Cuda & Challenger were ridiculously ripped off 1st gen Camaro/Firebird wannabes.



Aaaantoine:

I disagree about not being able to restyle retro. Like I have said a million times here's a glaring example of a retro car being restyled three times:



1993 Mustang: NOT RETRO





1994 Mustang:

Absolutely RETRO, every darn thing except for the headlights was retro!





1999 Mustang: RETRO but now it's more squared off and angular





2005 Mustang: BRAND NEW and yet still retro... redesigned again!

Edited November 21, 2005 by Sixty8panther

[AAS]

It is very retro, but at least it has some personality. Much better then the mustang, which already looks boring to me.

[Jazzhead]

Good looking car - and so what if it's retro? Classic American styling cues can only help the Big Three - certainly trying to out-Japanese the Japanese isn't going to cut it. Each of the Big Three needs to play to its strengths, to produce iconic products that cannot be credibly copied by the imports. The Mustang and the 300C do that, and so does the Challenger concept. So does the HHR. GM's move - to create an original iconic look - is commendable and has done wonders for Cadillac, but none of the art and science design cues have filtered done to the affordable car lines. Edited November 21, 2005 by Jazzhead

[Flybrian]

There is a massive difference among heritage influences (Ventiports, vertical taillamps), retro styling traits (Thunderbird, HHr), and mindlessly cribbing something straight from the past without significantly changing anything, which is what this thing is.

[turbo200]

I think it does succeed at separating itself, favorably. Teh retro issue aside, it's a pretty sweet car, I just wish the front end was a little less blatantly '70's. I agree with 68 that these cars were copies of the 1st gen Camaro, that side profile is exactly the same down to the same c-pillar shape. Even though I like Chris, no offense, but no one here was upset. And even if it's a concept it is our right to critique it, that's what we're here for and that's what the message board is for. No one was out of line as far as i can tell, except maybe for fly for interceding where it wasn't really necessary, sorry, just calling it like it is.

[Guest Josh]

Build it, Build it, BUILD IT! If for no other reason than to entice General Motors to build the Camaro concept at NAIAS if they are on the fence about it. So, once more, BUILD IT! PS - I also happen to like the looks :)

[nzr]

Super 8 and Kahuna were gross, but I LOVE this. (no surprise there)

I think it's about effin time GM makes a retro 1969 Camaro, don;t you?!?! Jesus, worse case if they don't I'll just buy one of these suckas and change about the tail light and headlights to make my OWN retro '69 Camaro.

Drop in an LS7/6spd. manual and VOILA!  B)

[post="45943"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Asking for an LS7 in a production Camaro is a bit much.

[regfootball]

Build it, Build it, BUILD IT!

If for no other reason than to entice General Motors to build the Camaro concept at NAIAS if they are on the fence about it.

So, once more, BUILD IT!

PS - I also happen to like the looks :)

[post="46118"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

i dunno, 30,000 job cuts, won't that alone pretty much mean NO camaro? Edited November 21, 2005 by regfootball

[turbo200]

Asking for an LS7 in a production Camaro is a bit much.

[post="46121"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

actually, it might not be....they are building a blue devil after all that will make over 600 hp, would be the top dog GM car, anything under that would be fair game for other cars.

[torobud]

I love how everybody is either very for it or very against it - It shows that the design actually embarks some EMOTION (holy cow!!) - It is these feelings that the new GTO lacks despite how competent the car is - Ford dealers know how far a little emotion can go as they sell the crap out of V6 Mustangs (which after a recent 600-700 mile trip I can say is terribly boring motor) I look for this car to be a big hit at NAIAS B)

[Backup7]

Just to clarify, BMWs, Porsches, and Bentleys are not retro. They are evolutionary. Unlike many American brands, their design DNA isn't overhauled every 5 years. The same cues are modernized and reinterpreted. When Ford jumps between completely different styling themes with the Mustang, and then suddenly steps back 40 years (completely ignoring the in-between cars), that is retro.

[NOS2006]

Is that flippin' awesome or what!  Old car, modern mechanicals.  Last I checked, its costs tens of thousands to update an orginal with modern equipment and this will easily come in under $30k. The only thing better would be for GM to give us a modern '69 Camaro already!

[post="46139"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

You forgot something. Let me help ya...

:AH-HA_wink:

[Sixty8panther]

NZR: reread my post, I was jusv kiding about dropping in a LS7 inot a Challenger... :P

[SoCalCTS]

The 2006 Dodge Challenger concept resurrects another authentic American muscle car for the Dodge brand and continues to build on the success and heritage of the Hemi engine. "This concept possesses the heritage and classic forms of the original Dodge Challenger," said Trevor Creed, Senior Vice President - Chrysler Group Design. "However, the ability to use the Dodge Magnum, Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 series architecture as the concept's foundation allowed us to bring a new level of quality and fit-and-finish to a muscle car icon."

[Cory Wolfe]

I voted for a modern coupe. Is there a such thing as too-retro? You betcha... especially when it looks like a carbon copy of the original. Does it look good? Other than the front, yes, it does. It's not bad but I just wish this retro craze would stop already... It's so expected these days. It's like everyone has forgotten how to style unique vehicles.

[Petra]

While I'd rather see a more modern interpretation of the Challenger, this retro look will be a hit with the Boomers. Besides, they're the ones who have the money, anyway.

[Sixty8panther]

The retro trend can die forever for all I care.... AFTER they finally give us that '69 retro Camaro. I've been waiting since the mid freeking 1990s for it for God's sake! :angry: Edited November 21, 2005 by Sixty8panther

[razoredge]

OK, how about another way to look at retro and come up optimistic. So we go retro, then what? that design will have to evolve. Now, where is that going to lead us ? Perhaps yet another era of wonderful automotive styling. Either way the tubular design of the 90's is gone and we should be pleased. [remember my newest car is a classic tube :AH-HA_wink: ]