Just a few days ago Dodge released a sketch of its upcoming Challenger concept, and now you can see what it really looks like in our latest spy photos. And like we said before, you don't have to be a member of the Barry Newman fan club to see that it's a dead ringer for the 1970 Challenger R/T. From the dual headlights to the kicked-up shoulders in back, the Challenger concept is a heritage design from top to bottom.
Not everything is early-'70s vintage. Take a good look at that grille. Dodge designers managed to cram the Dodge crosshairs in there without making it look quite as obvious, or as hard to swallow, as the same treatment on the Charger. You can't see it in the spy photos, but the "stripes" on the hood are actually unpainted areas of a carbon-fiber hood. There's more 21st-century hardware under the lightweight hood in the form of a 6.1-liter Hemi V8 hooked to a six-speed manual transmission. And yes, it does have a pistol-grip shifter.
Built on a shortened version of the rear-wheel-drive LX platform used for the Charger sedan and Magnum wagon, the Challenger concept is more than just a one-off design study. Dodge officials told us that if there's enough positive reaction to this coupe on the auto show circuit we could see production versions as early as the 2008 model year. We can't imagine a poor reaction to this modern-day Kowalski cruiser, so as far as we're concerned the Challenger is a done deal.
Not everything is early-'70s vintage. Take a good look at that grille. Dodge designers managed to cram the Dodge crosshairs in there without making it look quite as obvious, or as hard to swallow, as the same treatment on the Charger. You can't see it in the spy photos, but the "stripes" on the hood are actually unpainted areas of a carbon-fiber hood. There's more 21st-century hardware under the lightweight hood in the form of a 6.1-liter Hemi V8 hooked to a six-speed manual transmission. And yes, it does have a pistol-grip shifter.
Built on a shortened version of the rear-wheel-drive LX platform used for the Charger sedan and Magnum wagon, the Challenger concept is more than just a one-off design study. Dodge officials told us that if there's enough positive reaction to this coupe on the auto show circuit we could see production versions as early as the 2008 model year. We can't imagine a poor reaction to this modern-day Kowalski cruiser, so as far as we're concerned the Challenger is a done deal.
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