Back in 1970, Dodge’s answer to the Pony Car Wars was the Challenger and its sister, the Barracuda. These twins could have been uttered in the same breath as Chevelle, Mustang and Camaro, but the trouble was that Chrysler was too late to the game – by about five years or so. Fast forward to the reborn Pony Car Wars of the 21st century and it looks like Chrysler learned its lesson.

Dodge beat Chevrolet’s iconic Camaro to the punch by more than a year and, with a revised 2010 Ford Mustang around the corner, things are getting pretty exciting once again.

Sure, Chrysler LLC is on the ropes, with an uncertain (at press time) future, but let’s forget the timing for a moment and judge the Challenger for what it is.

What is it?
The 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 (Street and Racing Technology) is a high-zoot look back in the rear-view mirror – while managing to look ahead. It’s based on the Mercedes-Benz-engineered Chrysler LX platform, loins that have brought forth the 300C, Charger and Magnum vehicles. Grabbing the best of its heritage, the Challenger’s designers came up with a model that is inspired by the forebear, but carries onward with technologies from today. Like all of us approaching middle age, it has become wider and a little longer than the original.

The Challenger is available with a 5.7-liter Hemi, and a V6 as well, but here we concentrate on the 6.1-liter Hemi engine, newly available with a manual transmission for 2009.

What’s it up against?
For all practical purposes, the SRT8 is aiming its trademark Dodge crosshairs (which thankfully don’t appear anywhere on the car) directly toward the Ford Shelby GT500, with its 5.4-liter 500-horsepower supercharged engine. Since Chevrolet has not officially rolled out the Camaro yet, there are no comparable versions on the road – but we’d expect a good deal of competition from the upcoming Camaro SS.

Any breakthroughs?
Breakthroughs for the Challenger SRT8 include bragging rights to the most powerful, naturally aspirated V8 that Chrysler has ever built. At 6.1 liters, Chrysler claims it to be more potent than the 426 cubic inch Street Hemi in terms of horsepower-per-liter.

Also new for the first time in this latest generation of Challenger is the addition of an optional six-speed manual transmission with “pistol grip” shift knob, and a limited-slip differential.

How does it look?
As badass as the original!

But in this author’s eye, it appears slightly bulgier than the 1972 model we saw recently. It is a big car, so credit Dodge engineers for the clever use of black body cladding at various points including the rocker panels, and front spoiler to effectively use negative space to make the car look smaller than it really is. The front grille space looks like it was lifted directly off the Challenger Pro Stock drag racer of “Dandy” Dick Landy, who was Dodge’s longtime factory drag racer on the west coast, back when there existed such things as factory drag racing teams. By the way, we like the amber running lights that were mounted inboard of the HID headlights.

The underlip front spoiler works with the black tail spoiler to aid with downforce. The hood scoops actually bring cooling air under the hood, as opposed to helping with ram air induction, as in other cars. We especially liked the attention that the TorRed color scheme brought to the ride, but would have liked a regular grey (or black) stripe instead of the “carbon-fiber-look” tape stripe that shipped with our test SRT8. Along the driver’s side rear fender is a throwback gas cap cover similar in appearance to the original. What surprised us, though, was the absence of some sort of locking mechanism to keep it shut.

Apparently the designers did well.

While shooting photos near a shopping mall, a woman who was too young to have known of the original Challenger slowed down to a halt, lowered her window, and said “Now, that… is a sexy car!”

Yes. Yes indeed.

And inside?
The interior is really where the Challenger disappoints. It’s a colorless sea of gray slate double-needle stitching all around the interior save for the carbon-patterned surrounds of the center stack and the red accent stripes on the seat backs. Unfortunately, it does nothing to move the art of interior design forward – traditionally a Chrysler strong point.

On the plus side, the seats are big, beefy, and supportive in virtually every manner. Side bolsters hold you firmly in place, and the carbon-printed leather-wrapped steering wheel tilts and telescopes for good positioning. A largish center console holds all the basic gadgets and controls that you would expect to see in a car of today but other than that it is relatively plain. Except no 1970s era coupe had a 6.5-inch monitor in it with Sirius Satellite radio before. The 30-gigabyte MyGig hard drive has capacity for over 4000 music files. And no car had cup holders back in the day, either! The throwback pistol grip shift know actually provided good grip and is properly placed for a feel that some cars surprisingly still don’t get.

In the trunk area, you’ll find the battery…just like in a seventies drag car. As heavy as it is, this is a welcome addition for putting weight over the rear wheels. On the other hand, though, with smaller, more powerful batteries available, why weren’t one of them chosen in place of the full-sized model that resides in the trunk? The Challenger also benefits from the 60/40-split rear seat, which folds forward for extra cargo capacity. As it is, the Challenger has best in class cargo capacity of 16.2 cubic feet.

One curious thing that bothered us about the interior is the way that there is no access to the rear seat through the driver’s side door. Try as we might, we couldn’t find a way to tilt the seat back forward for a rear passenger to get in. So it was left for them to walk to the other side and enter that way and then slide over.

But does it go?
Hell to the yeah! And all the while giving great throat as you bang through the gears of the double-H pattern six-speed. With the mechanicals of the LX platform being abused by the 6.1-liter 425-horsepower Hemi V8 with 420 lb-ft. of torque, it better have had a stout tranny in place otherwise you’d end up with tons of little shredded gear teeth in the bottom of the gearbox. Enter Tremec with their TR6060 six-speed thrasher from the Viper, that makes you feel like Mr. Six Speed (with apologies to the late Ronnie Sox, also known as Mr. Four Speed). Our local raceway was torn up, so we never had a chance to exercise this beast to its full potential on a closed course like responsible auto writers.

The use of the Viper transmission required the implementation of a dual-disc clutch to help smooth out the proceedings. The last time I drove the Viper, my left thigh was the size of a watermelon from repeated applications in stop and go traffic. This time, the dual clutch duo helped to calm things out and in the process decreased the amount of pressure needed to engage the clutch. Additionally, both fifth and sixth gear are overdrive ratios which help the brute of an engine achieve 14 mpg in the city and 22 on the highway. The Tremec also features a hill-holder mode to prevent rollback upon initially letting out the clutch. I like to think of it as a “line lock” for hills.

The SRT8 hangs a half-inch lower than other run-of-the-mill Challengers, thanks to a multi-link front suspension with hydroformed side rails and stiffening pieces to firm things up. At the rear, is a five link independent rear suspension, which keeps all four tire patches firmly planted. The 4140-pound pony car rides on 20-inch forged Alcoa aluminum alloy wheels and manages to grind things to a halt with huge Brembo brakes at all four corners.

Overall, we like the features of the new SRT8 Challenger. It suffers from a few rough spots that are easily overlooked once you mash on the go-pedal. It is a big car and one that will cause many “oh crap!” moments should you let it take control of you instead of the alternative. But that’s why Dodge was showing great forethought when they decided to add a standard, but defeatable, Electronic Stability Program in to the mix.

Why you would buy it:
You are a big fan of the movie Vanishing Point and would dig vanishing in a Challenger of your own.

Why you wouldn’t:
You weren’t a fan of the ’70s and the ’80s, ’90s and beyond aren’t looking too good for you, either.

As an added bonus, check out Death Proof, a film by Quentin Tarantino starring Kurt Russell as “Stuntman Mike,” and stuntwoman Zoe Bell as herself. And an original Dodge Challenger. Gory at the start, but the payoff is all the way at the end. Stick it out. It’s well worth it!

2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 base price, $39,820. As tested, $44,975.
SRT Option Group II, $1,045; Six-speed manual transmission, $695; uConnect GPS, $890; Goodyea Eagle 3-Season Tires, $100; Gas guzzler tax, $1,700; Destination, $725.

Words and photos by Mark Elias.

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