2009 Dodge Challenger SE to start at $23,995?

Chrysler has yet to release official pricing for its upcoming Dodge Challenger, but one Chrysler executive appears to have let the cat out of the bag a little early. Steven Landry, Chrysler executive vice president for North American sales, says that the base V6 Challenger will sticker from $23,995.

Landry continued by saying that the 2009 Challenger will top out at $39,995 for the range-topping SRT8 model. The 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 stickered from $37,320.

"The Dodge Challenger is just really hot," Landry told the Detroit Free Press.

One of the Challenger's biggest competitors, the Ford Mustang, retails from $19,650 for a V6 powered model.

However, Stuart Schorr, a Chrysler spokesman, says that Challenger pricing has yet to be set and we'll have to wait a couple of months to hear official pricing. The 2009 Challenger will hit the market in late August or early September.