All-wheel drive Challenger resets rulebook
Talk of an all-wheel drive muscle car threatens to shake up the motoring landscape more than any other car in recent history. We can accept front-wheel drive M Cars or turbo charged AMGs, but an all-wheel drive Challenger feels like betrayal.
Mopar design boss Joe Dehner defends the decision to make a muscle car that can be used all year around. “No-one is doing this right now so we went out and created something unique and special.”
At this year’s SEMA Motor Show, Mopar will stun fans when it reveals a Dodge Challenger that forgoes all tradition. Equipped with all-wheel drive, the new car marries the long wheelbase version used by Chrysler’s 300C with all-wheel drive gubbins from the Dodge Charger Police Car. To get them to talk to each other Mopar added an eight-speed transmission.
Rather than vanish in a cloud of smoke, the all-wheel drive system is said to improve steering feedback and precision but that’s not necessarily what owner are interested in. Lowered springs, stiffer strut braces and bigger brakes attempt to alter this car’s very nature.
The holeshot is where the all-wheel drive Challenger comes into its own. No official time has been confirmed but Mopar says 0-100km/h will be faster, and kinder on the tyres. Supporting Mopar’s calculations is a 5.7-litre V8 reworked to around 330kW and 610Nm. This is achieved through new intakes, camshafts and bigger exhaust.
Visual changes are less adventurous but the all-wheel drive Challenger still looks as fierce as ever. Widened arches, 20-inch wheels, new front splitter and boot spoiler together with unique paint and decals will impress under SEMA’s show lights.
For now there are no plans to put the all-wheel drive Dodge Challenger into production but if reviews and feedback following SEMA are positive, then Dodge won’t rule it out.
