The Challenger could go out a champion.
December 22 marks the final day of production for the Dodge sports car, after an epic run that started in 2008.
Despite its age, the Challenger has been outselling the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro for the past couple of years and had a slight lead over the Mustang through the first three quarters of 2023.
We’ll have to wait a few more weeks to find out who won the sales race, but the Challenger will be taking one title with it.
THE LAST AMERICAN COP ‘CAR’ HAS BEEN RETIRED
The 900 hp Challenger SRT Demon 170 is, and likely will always be, the most powerful V8 muscle car ever made. And that’s before you fill up the tank with E85, which cranks it up to 1,025 hp.
THE DODGE CHALLENGER IS THE LAST CAR WITH AN OLD-SCHOOL FEATURE THAT’S GOING EXTINCT
Dodge has built over 853,000 Challengers and a spokesman told American Cars And Racing that the final car is a Pitch Black SRT Demon 170.
Dodge hasn’t released an image yet, or announced its final destination, but the spokesman said there will be more to come on that.
The Challenger isn’t going into the night alone, as the Charger sedan has also been discontinued.
It first launched in 2005, but received a midlife redesign in 2011. Dodge says 1.8 million have been sold, the last one being a Destroyer Gray Scat Pack Widebody.
Of course, the Challenger and the Charger are spring chickens compared to their platform-mate, the Chrysler 300.
It was the first of the three to go on sale in 2004 and, 1.4 million deliveries later, the last one is a Velvet Red 300 S.
The Dodge Magnum station wagon was also part of the family, but only 184,000 were sold from 2004 through 2007.
Dodge and Chrysler will both be without any car models in their lineups for a while.
The only thing that has been confirmed so far is that the Challenger and Charger V8 muscle car models will be initially replaced by a production version of the all-electric Charger Daytona SRT Concept late next year.
The Charger Daytona SRT’s chassis has been designed to accommodate an internal combustion, however, which has raised speculation that the lineup could include models with six-cylinder engines.
Chrysler’s CEO recently said the brand is still thinking about what a future sedan might be, but it’s next new launch will be an electric SUV and the marque has committed to going all-electric by 2028.
REVIEW: THE 2023 DODGE CHALLENGER SWINGER IS A BRAND-NEW OLD-SCHOOL MUSCLE CAR