First impressions.
I've seen the car several times. They did a fantastic job on the styling but its very big, heavy and thirsty. Built on previous generation MB E-Class chassis. The E-class is getting a complete re-design, I believe in the next year so these cars will be two full generations behind. I love the styling but wished it was at least 500lbs lighter, as I'm sure Chryco does too. Only so much they can do with the platform.
"Herb Helbig is dead serious. He's about to turn loose a group of journalists who still don't get why some top-line racing series never recruited them.
"Don't. Wreck. My. Cars," says the now-retired chief engineer of Dodge's SRT performance arm. "Don't even put a wheel off, or we're going to have a talk."
On a cold, wet December day at the Texas Motorsports Ranch road course southwest of Fort Worth, the odds appear good that Helbig--outfitted in his oddly intimidating trademark Viper SRT10 jacket and snakeskin (natch) cowboy boots--might get a last chance to light into at least one of his guests.
Rain and a frighteningly slippery track cause Helbig and company to pull the plug on driving the new 600-hp Dodge Viper ACR ("Track Rat's Snake," AW, Feb. 4). But test drives of the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8--here having its final production settings dialed in--remain on the schedule. That's good news, if you can somehow forget that these cars are worth a great deal more than the production models. It would be bad to bend the $40,158 retail version, catastrophic to write off a $250,000 development mule.
It's difficult, then, to glean much from this first drive, where simply keeping the car stuck to the "rain" line around the track's perimeter constitutes a job done well and where even straightaway speeds rarely exceed 60 mph. Yet some things are obvious.
Beneath skin crafted in honor of the original 1970 Challenger--note the omission of Dodge's modern-day crosshair grille, a positive change from the 2006 concept car--is the LX platform that also underpins Dodge's Magnum and Charger and Chrysler's 300C. A shorter wheelbase, down to 116 inches from its siblings' 120 (giving the platform an LC internal designation), differentiates the Challenger and was necessary to accommodate the coupe's styling. But don't expect to find a noticeably dartier car or a much lighter one. This Challenger weighs 4140 pounds versus the Charger SRT8's 4160. Likewise, the weight distribution is a nearly identical 55.6/44.4.
Neither does the Challenger feature the most extreme suspension setup of the LX family, as perhaps anticipated. Springs and dampers are tuned to fall between the settings of the 300C SRT8 and the Charger SRT8, with the overall ride-and-handling equation leaning toward the Charger rather than the 300C while eliminating some of the Charger's rear-end harshness.
"We realize that customers for this vehicle want a little bit of nostalgic body roll but not so much as on the 300C," says Adam Forte, SRT vehicle synthesis manager. "I want it to take an initial roll set quickly, without much jounce, and want it to feel very stable."
Forte and company appear to have met their goal. Though track conditions vetoed aggressive exploration of anything approaching the car's limits, the Challenger does indeed roll mildly into corners and holds its stance nicely. There's a big difference between acceptable modern-day chassis movement and the boat-on-the-high-seas pitching of yesteryear, and the car definitely feels better than the 300C without cornering quite as flat as the Charger.
Slip-sliding and transitioning drastically from understeer to oversteer, it is difficult to nail down the Challenger's ultimate disposition, but previous experience with other LX-based cars indicates it is competent for track running and plenty amusing on the street. In most driving conditions, though, we expect a negligible performance
difference between the Challenger and its stablemates, as the platform and drivetrain are the same.
Style is a different story. The Challenger has a visual presence that's lacking in the other Chrysler and Dodge offerings, and the SRT model will stand out from lesser
Challengers, thanks to 20-inch wheels and tires (standard 245/45 all-seasons front and rear, optional 245/45 front and 255/45 rear Goodyear Eagle F1s), as well as aerodynamic upgrades and parts, including wheelhouse and front-end aero planes and chin and rear spoilers.
A reworked braking system is improved. As do all SRT models, the Challenger uses a fixed-caliper, opposed-piston Brembo package, with large rotors (14.2-inch front, 13.8 rear) and four-piston calipers. But an upgrade to the ABS/ESP software eliminates "knockback," a phenomenon common during high-performance driving whereby heavy cornering loads force the rotors to flex and knock the pistons back into the caliper. This results in long brake-pedal feel; initial pedal pressure merely moves the pistons back into their proper position before any actual braking occurs.
Forte tapped into the ABS/ESP module, which uses a lateral g-force sensor to tell the ESP system when to intervene. Now, whenever lateral acceleration exceeds 0.6 g and then drops below 0.3 g, the software knows that the car has exited a hot corner and automatically primes the brakes, moving the pistons to their rightful place and reducing pedal travel. Dodge will not say so officially, but the new software should find its way into all LX-platform cars by 2009.
When you stand on the other pedal, the Challenger again feels familiar. The SRT-tuned 6.1-liter Hemi V8 produces the same 425 hp at 6200 rpm and 420 lb-ft of torque at 4800. Unique exhaust and intake tuning provide a slightly deeper rumble, but actual performance mirrors what we've seen before: 0 to 60 mph in the low five-second range, quarter-mile somewhere in the 13s. Chrysler's five-speed automatic is once again the only transmission choice, but a six-speed automatic is in the works, and SRT engineers fight to hide sly grins when pressed about a manual gearbox.
As for the finished product, dealers are taking orders now, and the first year's run of 6400 SRT8s will start to arrive at dealerships in May, when prime weather will fully reveal both the good and the bad that the Challenger has to offer.
For now, we're happy we didn't have to have that talk with Helbig."
I've seen the car several times. They did a fantastic job on the styling but its very big, heavy and thirsty. Built on previous generation MB E-Class chassis. The E-class is getting a complete re-design, I believe in the next year so these cars will be two full generations behind. I love the styling but wished it was at least 500lbs lighter, as I'm sure Chryco does too. Only so much they can do with the platform.
"Herb Helbig is dead serious. He's about to turn loose a group of journalists who still don't get why some top-line racing series never recruited them.
"Don't. Wreck. My. Cars," says the now-retired chief engineer of Dodge's SRT performance arm. "Don't even put a wheel off, or we're going to have a talk."
On a cold, wet December day at the Texas Motorsports Ranch road course southwest of Fort Worth, the odds appear good that Helbig--outfitted in his oddly intimidating trademark Viper SRT10 jacket and snakeskin (natch) cowboy boots--might get a last chance to light into at least one of his guests.
Rain and a frighteningly slippery track cause Helbig and company to pull the plug on driving the new 600-hp Dodge Viper ACR ("Track Rat's Snake," AW, Feb. 4). But test drives of the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8--here having its final production settings dialed in--remain on the schedule. That's good news, if you can somehow forget that these cars are worth a great deal more than the production models. It would be bad to bend the $40,158 retail version, catastrophic to write off a $250,000 development mule.
It's difficult, then, to glean much from this first drive, where simply keeping the car stuck to the "rain" line around the track's perimeter constitutes a job done well and where even straightaway speeds rarely exceed 60 mph. Yet some things are obvious.
Beneath skin crafted in honor of the original 1970 Challenger--note the omission of Dodge's modern-day crosshair grille, a positive change from the 2006 concept car--is the LX platform that also underpins Dodge's Magnum and Charger and Chrysler's 300C. A shorter wheelbase, down to 116 inches from its siblings' 120 (giving the platform an LC internal designation), differentiates the Challenger and was necessary to accommodate the coupe's styling. But don't expect to find a noticeably dartier car or a much lighter one. This Challenger weighs 4140 pounds versus the Charger SRT8's 4160. Likewise, the weight distribution is a nearly identical 55.6/44.4.
Neither does the Challenger feature the most extreme suspension setup of the LX family, as perhaps anticipated. Springs and dampers are tuned to fall between the settings of the 300C SRT8 and the Charger SRT8, with the overall ride-and-handling equation leaning toward the Charger rather than the 300C while eliminating some of the Charger's rear-end harshness.
"We realize that customers for this vehicle want a little bit of nostalgic body roll but not so much as on the 300C," says Adam Forte, SRT vehicle synthesis manager. "I want it to take an initial roll set quickly, without much jounce, and want it to feel very stable."
Forte and company appear to have met their goal. Though track conditions vetoed aggressive exploration of anything approaching the car's limits, the Challenger does indeed roll mildly into corners and holds its stance nicely. There's a big difference between acceptable modern-day chassis movement and the boat-on-the-high-seas pitching of yesteryear, and the car definitely feels better than the 300C without cornering quite as flat as the Charger.
Slip-sliding and transitioning drastically from understeer to oversteer, it is difficult to nail down the Challenger's ultimate disposition, but previous experience with other LX-based cars indicates it is competent for track running and plenty amusing on the street. In most driving conditions, though, we expect a negligible performance
difference between the Challenger and its stablemates, as the platform and drivetrain are the same.
Style is a different story. The Challenger has a visual presence that's lacking in the other Chrysler and Dodge offerings, and the SRT model will stand out from lesser
Challengers, thanks to 20-inch wheels and tires (standard 245/45 all-seasons front and rear, optional 245/45 front and 255/45 rear Goodyear Eagle F1s), as well as aerodynamic upgrades and parts, including wheelhouse and front-end aero planes and chin and rear spoilers.
A reworked braking system is improved. As do all SRT models, the Challenger uses a fixed-caliper, opposed-piston Brembo package, with large rotors (14.2-inch front, 13.8 rear) and four-piston calipers. But an upgrade to the ABS/ESP software eliminates "knockback," a phenomenon common during high-performance driving whereby heavy cornering loads force the rotors to flex and knock the pistons back into the caliper. This results in long brake-pedal feel; initial pedal pressure merely moves the pistons back into their proper position before any actual braking occurs.
Forte tapped into the ABS/ESP module, which uses a lateral g-force sensor to tell the ESP system when to intervene. Now, whenever lateral acceleration exceeds 0.6 g and then drops below 0.3 g, the software knows that the car has exited a hot corner and automatically primes the brakes, moving the pistons to their rightful place and reducing pedal travel. Dodge will not say so officially, but the new software should find its way into all LX-platform cars by 2009.
When you stand on the other pedal, the Challenger again feels familiar. The SRT-tuned 6.1-liter Hemi V8 produces the same 425 hp at 6200 rpm and 420 lb-ft of torque at 4800. Unique exhaust and intake tuning provide a slightly deeper rumble, but actual performance mirrors what we've seen before: 0 to 60 mph in the low five-second range, quarter-mile somewhere in the 13s. Chrysler's five-speed automatic is once again the only transmission choice, but a six-speed automatic is in the works, and SRT engineers fight to hide sly grins when pressed about a manual gearbox.
As for the finished product, dealers are taking orders now, and the first year's run of 6400 SRT8s will start to arrive at dealerships in May, when prime weather will fully reveal both the good and the bad that the Challenger has to offer.
For now, we're happy we didn't have to have that talk with Helbig."
