[VIDEO] The Final V8 Dodge Challenger Will be Unveiled on March 20th

A few years ago, we launched an initiative to help the Corvette-obsessed better “know the enemy.” The resulting feature, which we dubbed Scouting Report, has only run on the rare occasion that the increasingly narrow-focused automotive market actually produces a new ‘Vette competitor. Because GM has elevated its halo model far beyond former sports car rivals like the Nissan Z and Toyota Supra, the majority of these posts have been dedicated to Porsches, with an odd benchmark Ferrari and a 760-horse Mustang thrown in for good measure, but they have all been done after the pertinent specs were released. This edition is a little different as it marks the end of an era, and we want to give all interested parties an opportunity to learn about the vehicle in question, along with us, in real-time. Its ramifications will be far-reaching!

Background, Teasers, and the March 20th Event

It is hard to imagine, but the entity formerly known as the Chrysler Corporation, an equal half of DaimlerChrysler, and FCA will cease production of their third-generation “HEMI” V8 at the conclusion of the current model year. The popular powerplant debuted all the way back in 2003, has been produced in 5.7 (Eagle), 6.1 (unnamed), 6.4 (Apache), and Supercharged 6.2L (Hellcat/Demon) displacements, and has seen duty in everything from run-of-the-mill trucks and SUVs to performance versions of the reborn 300 sedan, the Magnum wagon, and the venerable Charger and Challenger, amongst others. No replacement V8 is planned, with new parent conglomerate, Stellantis hinging its hopes squarely on battery packs and a twin-turbo inline-six called “Hurricane.”

To send its most legendary engine family off with a bang, Dodge – and, to a lesser extent, Chrysler – has been dolling out “Last Call” editions of its long-in-the-tooth but undeniably beloved hi-po sleds for months. Up to now, these have included a re-release of the Hellcat Durango three-row SUV (that’s getting the company sued), a host of Charger and Challenger “paint & sticker” specials/tributes to storied Mopars of the past, and the resurgence of the 6.4 “392” V8 in the 300C order books. All of them have led up to a Last Call grand finale model to be shown to the public for the first time at Roadkill Vegas on March 20th. “Mind-boggling horsepower” has been promised; this one will be THE one.

As it did leading up to the reveal of the 840-HP Challenger Demon in 2018, Dodge’s cryptic, Easter egg-filled teaser machine has been running at redline, getting ready for the big day. So far, the clips have heavily featured a possessed leprechaun – we aren’t sure if that is just a reference to the end-of-St. Patrick’s weekend reveal date, if it teases an official mascot similar to what the Grumman F6F-inspired cat and the analogous Devil have been for their respective models, or simply a clever tie-in for the liquid “gold” that has been utilized in the marketing material. The staple of Irish folklore and children’s cereal has thus far been shown on a scale that reads 7.1 lbs., a possible nod to boost or an ultra-lightweight part, and most recently, in a spot titled “Scream @ 215 MPH,” breathing into a handheld digital fan that reads “105@(3.02×2.98)” before the breath, and “1582” after. While none of that is very helpful and has led to a lot of speculation about obscure statistics, including things like ‘millibars’ and ‘pound-force per square inch,’ the parenthesized part does come out to 8.99 which would be a stunning quarter mile time worthy of all the pomp and circumstance going on, but that’d also be as tough of a number to achieve as 1,582 HP. Whatever it all means, the enigmatic advertising is doing its job, and people are talking and speculating away out there. Luckily, it’ll all be over, and we’ll have all the answers on Monday.

Why all of this Matters to Corvette Fans

Even if you aren’t a fan of Dodge’s heavy sports coupe and its elderly stablemates, there’s no denying its significance and admire its staying power in one of the world’s most “what have you done for me lately?” industries. More importantly, you also can’t help but view Dodge’s early retirement of its long-standing V8 calling card as a particularly intriguing case study.

Horsepower has Staying Power

First, about the unfathomable endurance of the modern Challenger’s popularity; your author turns 34 in June, and the Chally as we know it has been around since my senior year in High School! This thing has coexisted with THREE Corvette generations, and if it were a person, it could legally drive. The accomplishment that the SRT guys pulled off in keeping an ancient car and its even older platform fresh with a shoestring budget in a world that looks down on gas guzzlers – and fun – more with each passing year can’t be oversold. They managed to prop up a dinosaur for more than a decade, and the only tools at their disposal were the best classic color palette in the game, a natural partnership with the only (semi)grown-up car-centric franchise in Hollywood, and a blown iron block V8. So great was their success that the Challenger, propelled by its now nine-year-old hero motor, is sitting on back-to-back (2021 and 2022) sales crowns in the hotly contested Pony Car segment even with fresher, lighter, better handling, more advanced machinery available in Ford and Chevrolet showrooms. Now, like Jordan deciding the time was right to give baseball a shot, they are just going to drop everything they know and try their hand at building Teslas.

GM and Ford will be Observing the Fallout of Dodge dropping V8s, Intently

So, how will Dodge’s business model fare when the Mötley Crüe soundtrack and the Hellcat halo effect are relegated to used car lots? Will customers even give the Daytona EV a chance? Will Dodge and Co. have to run back to the V8 well to save themselves from going under in a year and a half? As the first of the big three to take this plunge, the American wing of Stellantis has officially turned itself into an industry guinea pig. You better believe that General Motors and the Blue Oval will be watching what happens with bated breath. The viability of their electric pipe dream is on the line.

Source:
Dodge

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