The Dodge Challenger was once again the best-selling two-door American Sports car for the second year straight, not surprising any of us at Landmark Dodge of Morrow! Over 55,060 confirmed deliveries bested the Ford Mustang’s 8.4% slump and 40,446 units sold
It is no secret that the gas-powered Challenger is supposed to be discontinued at year’s end, slated to be replaced by the electric Charger Daytona SRT. We assure you that this new model won’t disappoint, blending all the best of classic muscle car styling with clean-sourced battery power and Hemi-V8 levels of breathtaking performance.
With the handling that Car and Driver were enthralled with and called “thoroughly and delightfully old-school”, the 2023 Challenger keeps things adequately retro while in a package that is designed for the illicit and unearthly feel of straight-line speed. The V6 is the standard in the non-SRT Challengers, but the purist’s most exciting form of fun comes with the Hemi V8, which blasts up to 485 horsepower. Those diehards who are after the most power they can get their hands on can oblige themselves with the hefty and huge-stomping Challenger SRT Hellcat, but the standard Challenger still offers up an abundance of nostalgic bravado and racetrack-themed thrills.
The 2023 Challenger sports a couple of special and unique commemorative plaques under the hood, and you can select from popular colors such as Plum Crazy, B5 Blue, and Sublime Green. There’s also a sweet “345” badge slapped right on the front fender paying homage to the Hemi V8 that exists poised and ready to pounce under the hood. There will be 1,000 special “Shakedown” editions built, following the original theme of a black and red interior, and exterior with a thoroughly vintage feel.
500 Challenger Shakedown R/T Scat Packs will be built in Destroyer Grey, and 500 R/T Scat Pack Widebodies in Pitch Black will be produced. The Car and Driver gang also reflected that their favorite transmission was the 8-speed automatic over the standard manual, which will surprise many. It offered them a quicker response, and did not feel as gummy as the stick while aggressively cornering and directly off the line. The Dynamics Package also adds the speed demon’s A-list goodies in the form of 20-inch wheels, 6-piston Brembo front brakes, and leather-wrapped steering wheel.
The Driver Convenience Group adds rear-cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, power mirrors, and high-intensity-discharge headlights. Compared with its pony-car rivals it is far roomier inside, and there’s an extra seven feet of cargo space in the trunk that the Camaro can’t claim. To fully maximize each cruise to the most amazing audio-friendly experience, you can’t pass up the 900-watt, 18-speaker Harman/Kardon system!
