That '70S show - AutoWeek Magazine
Got a Hemi?

SPECS
ON SALE: Now
BASE PRICE: $40,095
DRIVETRAIN: 6.1-liter, 425-hp, 420-lb-ft V8; rwd, five-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT: 4140 lb
0 TO 60 MPH: 5.2 sec (est)
FUEL ECONOMY (EPA): 15 mpg

By PETE LYONS

If you missed the 1970-74 Challenger the first time around or you miss the one you had, this is a chance to feel reborn. The new retro car that Dodge calls a muscle coupe is resolutely reminiscent of the original--and we mean that both approvingly and otherwise.

In size, shape and style; in dynamics, handling and feel; in its suitability for both daily use and weekend adventure, the 425-hp 2008 Challenger SRT8 we recently drove on both road and racetrack seemed almost uncannily faithful to our admittedly aged memories of the good old days.

But also revived were memories of certain aspects of those days that we're glad have been left to history.

As described in "Muscle Machine" in AW's Feb. 11 issue (also at autoweek.com), the new Challenger is built on the Chrysler 300C/Dodge Charger platform with its all-independent suspension and Hemi V8. To accommodate the 2+2 body style, four inches are sacrificed from the wheelbase, which is now 116 inches, but the Challenger's axles are still nearly nine inches farther apart than on its retro fellow, the Ford Mustang. Twenty-inch wheels make this Dodge look smaller than it really is.

Curb weight as estimated by the manufacturer is also higher, at 4140 pounds, than the 3920 quoted by Ford for its roughly comparable Shelby GT500.

But in retro cars, specs mean less than sensations, and the SRT8s we drove in mid-April from the Los Angeles basin over the San Gabriel Mountains and around Willow Springs raceway were an interesting blend of past and present.

The experience begins with appearance. Stylist Jeff Gale, son of former Chrysler design boss Tom Gale, deftly captured the proportions and presence of the handsomely brutal '70 coupe in a rationally modern envelope. We noticed it catching a lot of eyes.

Inside, we found plenty of front-seat room and a more open feeling than we expected, given seemingly tall sides, tight cab and small-looking windows. But trying the rear made us regret those four lost inches, and back-seat passengers have no better view of the passing world than they do from the claustrophobic Charger.

On the other hand, the split/fold-down rear seatbacks open into a very generous trunk.

Interior appointments and trim are nicely coordinated, although there's an overall dark tone--even in the headliner--meant to evoke the "sinister" air of the historic car.

While we don't remember the old '70 caring much about us as drivers, the '08 wants you to think you're an ace. The seats are massively bolstered, and suedelike inserts grip your clothes in hard maneuvering. To the same end, there's a textured fabric on the door grip handles and the top segment of the steering wheel, while the rest of the rim is surfaced in smooth leather. That's nice, but sharp corners of the spoke trim proved a persistent irritation to our thumbs. Sounding the horn requires moving a hand to the center of the wheel--how retro is that?

Instruments live at the bottoms of deep sockets, which shade the white faces and their small numerals, making them hard to read at a glance. They can't be read at all from the passenger seat; given the strong performance, that may be good.

The ovoid side mirrors are another retro touch that doesn't work for us; we find them too far to the sides and too shrouded by their stylish bullet housings. There's a reason we call this stuff retro, folks--modern designs are better.

Thoroughly modern are the Challenger's keyless, push-button start-up and the well-muffled rumble of the 6.1-liter Hemi. At first, the tone seems too muffled for such a car, but a deep poke on the gas brings out a mad bellow that you can enjoy when you want it and don't have to endure when you don't.

The 425 hp (which peaks at 6200 rpm) and 420 lb-ft of torque at 4800 rpm give a lot of lunge, and, thanks to the modern platform, it's far more usable lunge than back in the day. Triple-digit speeds used to be a thrill. In the new Challenger, they're just numbers.

Similarly up to date is the transmission, though all 6400 SRT8s made in '08 will have an automatic. If you want a manual, wait until '09. But the five-speed auto is a good one. Left on its own, it shifts crisply and intuitively, and when commanded by the autostick, it is satisfyingly quick, with a nice auto blip on downshifts. The only negative is the lever, which we found too far aft to be handy.

Ride quality on everyday roads is a competent compromise between crisp and comfortable, and it takes a bad surface to make it seem harsh. Moderately fast mountain driving is pleasurable and doesn't seem to upset passengers, though there is a limit. This is no European sports sedan.

We can't rate steering feel as world-class, unfortunately, and freeway running in a mild crosswind calls for annoyingly frequent corrections.

On the track, the suspension compromise holds up, the big vehicle feeling both agile and stable up to a point. When pushed harder, the Challenger does begin to show its weight and wallows a bit, no doubt because SRT engineers deliberately allowed some body roll at turn-in to recall the '70 car's behavior.

They also tuned the shocks for some lift-throttle attitude change, because understeer is pronounced, and the wheel, which feels ship-large in the hands, takes a lot of angle to crank into an apex. We didn't like that in 1970, and we still don't. Maybe we weren't employing the lift throttle properly.

Cars we drove claimed we were cornering at 0.99 g. They're shameless flatterers. Introduced on the Challenger SRT8 is a new g-meter readout below the speedo-meter, with a cross-shaped bar graph plus numbers indicating changing forces in acceleration, braking and steering. It's difficult (and dumb) to watch this while driving, but peak values are retained and can be displayed by scrolling to another page.

It's all very much like a race car, but the information, not read directly, is instead calculated from ABS and stability-control data, and frankly, it's neither believable nor useful. The best possible reading is 0.99--way over the 0.88 that Dodge gives as a skidpad figure--and if you get that your first time around the track, as we did, how will you know when you improve?

More instructive are the acceleration times and braking distances the system also registers. The retro Challenger claims 0 to 60 mph in the low-five-second range. That might come down in '09, when a locking differential will be available.

In the acceleration-oriented parts of this country, this Challenger should be popular. Indeed, Dodge says 11,000 people have tried to buy the first 6400 cars. Those who land one will like their fast ride back to the '70s.

 

Nice looking car, but I'd wait for the manual.

 

the interior just doesn't say "muscle car"

 

Its a nice car if I had some space at home, then I would take either a red or a black one as I find it to look muscular and can be used as a good daily driver with lots of power.