{"id":230105,"date":"2022-08-15T18:59:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T22:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=230105"},"modified":"2022-08-15T18:43:55","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T22:43:55","slug":"say-farewell-to-dodge-charger-challenger-and-welcome-back-to-durango-hellcat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2022\/08\/say-farewell-to-dodge-charger-challenger-and-welcome-back-to-durango-hellcat\/","title":{"rendered":"Say Farewell to Dodge Charger, Challenger \u2014 And Welcome Back to Durango Hellcat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The auto industry is in the midst of its most dramatic transition in more than a century. Just about everything is undergoing change as SUVs and CUVs continue to replace sedans, coupes and sports cars, while internal combustion engines phase out in favor of EVs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dodge
Dodge dealers are making it easy for 2022 and 2023 Dodge Challenger customers to add a convertible top to the world\u2019s quickest, fastest and most powerful muscle car.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Nowhere is that more apparent than at the Dodge brand. Best known for muscle cars like the Charger and Challenger, it will see the launch of its second utility vehicle later this year, with its first all-electric model slated to arrive in 2024. And, as part of \u201cDodge Speed Week,\u201d the Stellantis brand is offering up a closer look at what\u2019s to come \u2014 and what\u2019s going away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among other things, Dodge is teasing a series of limited-edition Charger and Challenger models, and even a drop-top muscle car package. The coming model year also will be marked by the return of the Durango Hellcat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Speed Week event will lead us into the annual Woodward Dream Cruise, a celebration of classic muscle and will “pour gas on\u201d the changes coming at Dodge, said brand boss Tim Kuniskis. It will \u201cshow people where we\u2019re going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shifting gears<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The transition, Kuniskis said during a media background briefing, begins this coming year as the long-lived Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger models make their final stand. At least in their current configuration, that is. \u00a0But they will go out in a blaze of glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat is back for 2023 model year and ready to reclaim its rightful mantle as the most powerful SUV on the planet.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Among other things, Dodge will offer wannabe racers the chance to buy a rolling Challenger chassis for just $8,995. That package comes sans engine and transmission. But if you want something even more basic, you\u2019ll be able to buy a stripped-down body-in-white package for just $7,995.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll be able to finish the package with whatever drivetrain you want \u2014 though you\u2019ll have the option to purchase several different engine and transmission packages from Dodge\u2019s own Direct Connection website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have to go, do it in a blaze of glory, and that certainly describes the Challenger which ended last year as the best-selling muscle car in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, to mark the end of the run, Dodge will introduce seven limited-edition models for 2023. The automaker is keeping them under wraps \u2014 quite literally \u2014 only showing the \u201cheritage-influenced\u201d muscle cars carefully camouflaged during last week\u2019s background session. About all the automaker would reveal is each has a connection to \u201can iconic Dodge model from the past.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expect to hear more about six of these special edition muscle cars later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The 2023 Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger lineup will pay homage to the muscle car pair with seven special models.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A limited run<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dodge plans to produce only a handful of each and they will be shipped to select dealers around the country. Kuniskis acknowledged the likelihood that there could be something of a battle ahead as Dodge fans and collectors race to nab the heritage editions. He promised Dodge will be \u201ccompletely transparent about where it ships not only the special editions but also all of the final-year production of the Challenger and Charger models to help potential customers track them down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll be able to find them on a special website: DodgeGarage.com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seventh heritage model is being billed as \u201cthe very last of its kind,\u201d and will be unveiled during the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas scheduled for Nov. 1-4, 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are celebrating the end of an era \u2014 and the start of a bright new electrified future \u2014 by staying true to our brand,\u201d said Kuniskis. \u201cAt Dodge, we never lift, and the brand will mark the last of our iconic Charger and Challenger nameplates in their current form in the same way that got us here, with a passion both for our products and our enthusiasts that drives us to create as much uniqueness in the muscle car community and marketplace as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger, in current form, are coming to an end, but not for one more year.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

More on the agenda<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Among other plans for the coming model year, Dodge will expand the number of \u201cjailbreak\u201d versions of the Charger and Challenger to include the 717-horsepower SRT Hellcat packages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who\u2019ve longed for a ragtop version of the Dodge muscle twins, you\u2019ll be in luck this coming year. Well, sort of. \u201cDodge dealerships will offer an expedited ordering process for third-party convertible modifications for the 2022 Dodge Challenger through Drop Top Customs, the oldest convertible coachbuilder in the U.S.,\u201d the automaker announced Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will mark the first time you can get a Challenger convertible since 1971. But it won\u2019t come cheap, Drop Top Customs dealers expected to charge $25,999 for the conversion process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ongoing demand for the two Dodge muscle cars flies in the face of ongoing industry trends. But the automaker isn\u2019t ignoring reality. Expect to hear more about its newest SUV, the Hornet, later this week<\/a><\/span><\/strong>. And brand boss Kuniskis already has confirmed that the most powerful version ever of the big Durango will be back for 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dodge
The 2023 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat\u2019s supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 will punch out 710 hp and 645 pound-feet of torque.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The 2023 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat\u2019s supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 will punch out 710 hp and 645 pound-feet of torque. That\u2019s enough to launch the SUV from 0-60 in 3.5 seconds and, according to the NHRA, should deliver quarter-mile runs of 11.5 seconds, hitting 180 mph as you blast through the traps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat has generated a crazy amount of enthusiasm and demand since it was introduced in 2020 \u2014 we even extended its initial production run \u2014 so it seemed appropriate to bring back the most powerful SUV ever as part of our historic 2023 model-year Dodge line-up,\u201d said Kuniskis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note that Dodge is only promising to have the Hellcat back for 2023, though Kuniskis told TheDetroitBureau.com he hopes to be able to extend the run for the supercharged package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenge will be justifying the cost of producing that big V-8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the 2023 model year wraps up, Dodge not only will pull the plug on the Charger and Challenger models but also halt production at its big assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario. The factory won\u2019t be down for long, however. It will undergo a massive transformation that will see it return in 2024 equipped to produce battery-electric vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that is expected to include the eagerly anticipated Dodge electric muscle car that we should hear more about later on during Speed Week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As part of \u201cDodge Speed Week,\u201d the Stellantis brand revealed it plans to produce seven limited edition versions of the Challenger and Charger. Additionally the Durango Hellcat is back for at least one more year and the all-electric Hornet is coming, reports TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,6,8,5,1608,1164,2648,969,1347,9],"tags":[7323,2132,1293,7320,7322,7321],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230105"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230105"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":230127,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230105\/revisions\/230127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230105"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=230105"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=230105"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=230105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}