2015 Dodge Challenger

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Rumour has it that the updated Challenger could have more than the Viper.

spy-shots-of-a-2015-dodge-challenger-srt8-powered-by-the-hellcat-supercharged-hemi-v-8_100435715_l.jpg


odge is set to introduce a mild update for its Challenger for the 2015 model year, an update that's expected to include the addition of a new supercharged HEMI V-8 for the range-topping SRT model. The new supercharged HEMI V-8, which has been nicknamed the Hellcat, is believed to be a 6.2-liter unit, and according to some recent comments from SRT boss Ralph Gilles it may just be more powerful than the 640-horsepower V-10 in the Viper supercar.

"We have a situation where, you know-- we may have a situation--where the flagship car is not the most powerful car in our arsenal,” Gilles told Hot Rod magazine. “So we have an internal horsepower race as well as an external one."


The Challenger SRT with the Hellcat will likely be a special model, similar to the 2014 Chevrolet Z/28 which is priced at $75k. This means pricing will probably fall well north of even the Challenger SRT 392’s $46k starting price, which makes sense if the car ends up the most powerful in SRT’s lineup.

The good news is that the mighty mill is expected to end up in other SRT products. Let’s hope one of them is a hardcore Viper developed along the lines of the GTS-R racing version; such a car might just be the ticket to dethroning the 2015 Corvette Z06 in the American supercar wars.

Stay tuned for an update.
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http://www.motorauthority.com/news/...ay-be-more-powerful-than-viper-v-10?fbfanpage
 
yea Apparently all Engines should be getting a boost in power. the 3.6 should hit about 315hp, the 5.7 should hit 400. the 6.4 should hit 490-500 and then the Hellcar should release with 620-650hp
 
Does it really matter all that much when it's shoved into a chassis that's too heavy, too big, and really completely out of date? Sure, throw more power at it to make the Mopar fans more happy. But when they're out there piddle diddlin' about how quick it is in a straight line, the Z/28 is throwing down serious performance numbers, all while the new Mustang will turn the pony car market completely upside down.

Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather have Fiat-Chrysler spending their money on the next-generation Challenger/'Cuda, making it an appropriate Mustang and Camaro competitor, then developing ridiculous engines that belong in a pre-2008 world, and then complaining about how poor SRT sales prevent the Viper from racing at LeMans. Am I crossing the streams here? You bet.

If Fiat-Chrysler can develop a legitimate mid-size, lightweight, competitive, rear-drive chassis going forward, I won't just be downright impressed, I may even consider eating my shoe. As far as I'm concerned, they should have significantly updated the LX chassis three years ago, or moved onto something new. You can't drag a W211 on for this long...
 
The Hellcat Model will be a Totally different beast compared to the Premium SRT Challenger. said to even have features found in the Boss Mustang.


and about the Viper Racing, Its just not continueing the Le Man's, will continue with the GTS-R's in American Racing.
 
Not sure they should downsize the Challenger. A downsized Challenger would be nice, but Chrysler seems to have its own niche with the current car.

Just about every Mustang/Camaro/Challenger comparo I've seen had the Mustang winning the performance categories, but the Challenger was most often the tester's pick for daily driving.

Bigger, more comfortable, better ride, more usable back seat, bigger trunk, etc. than the other two.
 
Date when anyone cared about this: 3 years ago.

Today: Viper doesn' race at Le Mans lololol.

Chrysler is really, really off the hook. Sadly. Very sadly.
 
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Tree'd but I'll say it anyways.

Chrysler would be better off making a Challenger that competes with it's actual rivals from Ford and GM, instead of its sporty sibling.
 
Zenith
Tree'd but I'll say it anyways.

Chrysler would be better off making a Challenger that competes with it's actual rivals from Ford and GM, instead of its sporty sibling.
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Your post makes no sense... Ford & GM doesnt make a rival that competes with the Challenger because historically the Challenger did NOT compete with the Mustang and Camaro, that was the Barracuda's job.
 
psntomaz
Your post makes no sense... Ford & GM doesnt make a rival that competes with the Challenger because historically the Challenger did NOT compete with the Mustang and Camaro, that was the Barracuda's job.
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The Barracuda was the Challengers sister car.
 
psntomaz
Yea it was but it was smaller lighter and had a shorter wheel base.
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It was still on the same platform even if somewhat SWB. And if this is all your going to use to help save face for Dodge then this is going to be stuck in motion. The reality is these cars are on the same demographic, and dodge fell behind years ago boo hoo pick up the slack Dodge. It seems they finally are, but doing an engine mod that most of their buyers have been who dont want Chevy or Ford isn't going to be enough.
 
LMSCorvetteGT2
It was still on the same platform even if somewhat SWB. And if this is all your going to use to help save face for Dodge then this is going to be stuck in motion. The reality is these cars are on the same demographic, and dodge fell behind years ago boo hoo pick up the slack Dodge. It seems they finally are, but doing an engine mod that most of their buyers have been who dont want Chevy or Ford isn't going to be enough.
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This is pretty much it too. Chevy and Ford have long since moved on and left Dodge in the dust. Just losing weight and adding power isn't enough anymore...it's the whole deal these days. We are arguably in a race much more hardcore than that of the 1960s other than the cars are much more expensive these days.

It's not just about horsepower anymore. It's about handling too. Dodge needs to step it up or they can pretty much forget about being in the market.
 
psntomaz
The Hellcat Model will be a Totally different beast compared to the Premium SRT Challenger. said to even have features found in the Boss Mustang.
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Here's the thing:

None of it really matters. The Challenger hasn't been relevant in the American sports coupe comparison since 2011. If Fiat-Chrysler wanted to make an impact with a track-ready Challenger, they should have had it ready to go in 2012/2013 to go head-to-head with the BOSS 302 and the 1LE. Even then, the "features" of the BOSS and the 1LE were mostly, "handling, handling, handling," not outright horsepower. If Fiat-Chrysler thinks that's the way to make the better performance coupe, they're absolutely going about it all the wrong way.

I'll say this, at the very least. Hats off to Fiat-Chrysler for adding the no-frills "Core" models to the SRT lineup last year. People who just want the go-fast bits and nothing else, that's the way to do it. But it still ignores the point that, for the most part, the LX cars are still a bit of a joke when it comes to doing more than going fast in a straight line.

Trust me, I'd love to see Fiat-Chrysler do something legitimately special for their Challenger successor. I'd absolutely love to see them bring back the Barracuda, make it smaller and lighter weight, make it handle, make it look good. Can you imagine a Fiat-Chrysler, rear-drive coupe that could be just as much of a multi-purpose car as the Mustang will eventually be? Fiat could very easily market the damn thing internationally just as easy as Ford will, and assuming that Alfa Romeo would sort the chassis out, good lord, it would be pleasant to drive. Make a Formula-S model with a turbocharged version of the 2.4L Tigershark I4. The Mustang ST would really have something to worry about, then.

But no. I fully expect them to keep the LX rolling as long as they can, slowly killing the Challenger (et, all) in the process.
 
psntomaz
Has not been Relevant? Chrysler sells more V8 challengers than ford and GMs v8 offerings.
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Sales do not make it a better car.

Let me put it to you bluntly. Compared to everything in its price range on the market now, it 🤬 sucks. Unless you are a die hard Mopar guy, or some older guy looking to relive his youth, you would have to be a moron to but one.

To my knowledge without looking anything up, the Camaro and Mustang have spanked the Challenger in sales, horsepower, looks and handling. The car has been left in the dust by the competition and a repeat of the 70s pretty much happened where Chrysler is last to everything.

All I know is they better have something up their sleeve or the game is over for them.
 
Aren't these Hemi V8s still an iron block and rather on the heavy side themselves? I know the $$ aren't there for Chrysler, but as has already been mentioned, it'd be much cooler if they developed a new chassis and a lighter engine to go with it rather than just bolt on a supercharger to an already heavy engine. Mind you, I still think the car is pretty cool as a street car. It's got style, size and a stonking engine, all great things for cruising.
 
Slash
Sales do not make it a better car.

Let me put it to you bluntly. Compared to everything in its price range on the market now, it 🤬 sucks. Unless you are a die hard Mopar guy, or some older guy looking to relive his youth, you would have to be a moron to but one.

To my knowledge without looking anything up, the Camaro and Mustang have spanked the Challenger in sales, horsepower, looks and handling. The car has been left in the dust by the competition and a repeat of the 70s pretty much happened where Chrysler is last to everything.

All I know is they better have something up their sleeve or the game is over for them.
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Which will mean the current challenger will be worth stupid amounts of money at auction in 40-50 years just like the old Mopars are today LOL. Seriously, old Challengers are rarer than Mustangs or Camaros becuas they were an inferior car when they were sold, but now they out-auction almost every American vehicle out there (with Shelby and some Corvettes being the exception). So there's some consumer advice for ya, if you want a car that may be worth crazy amounts of money when you retire, buy this car.
 
psntomaz
Has not been Relevant? Chrysler sells more V8 challengers than ford and GMs v8 offerings.
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V8 sales do not make success or relevance. If you want to define success for a car like this, you've got to look at total sales, performance versus the competition, or the impact the car has had on the automotive community. The Challenger has been decimated by the Mustang and Camaro in all three areas.

Sales: No question.

Mustang+vs+Camaro+vs+Challenger+Sales+Chart+%25231.jpeg


Performance: notice that magazines don't even bother mentioning the Challenger alongside the Camaro and Mustang anymore? There's a reason for that.

While the other two were offering modern performance and forward-looking packages like the BOSS and the ZL1, Chrysler was still trying to capitalize off of old dudes with baseball caps who can be sold on a car if it says "392" on the side.

The bread and butter V8 model is a barge compared to the other two, which is incredible considering how heavy the other two are.

Impact: Same as above. Camaro and Mustang keep releasing models that people actually get excited for. I only see some small previews in magazines for new Challengers that nobody asked for and can't make anybody care.

The sad thing is that unlike in the 60's and 70's, Chrysler wasn't late to this party. They had every opportunity to be a part of the new pony car market, all they had to do was realize that this wasn't post-1974 America where the market could be fooled into buying crappy cars based on nostalgia.

Instead we got more Challengers that sit on the side line eating glue while their competitors duke it out with European sports cars.
 
Zenith
While the other two were offering modern performance and forward-looking packages like the BOSS and the ZL1, Chrysler was still trying to capitalize off of old dudes with baseball caps who can be sold on a car if it says "392" on the side.
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Oh come on. How could you not weant to buy something that's called "Yellow Jacket"? Pure marketing genius I tell you.
 
Müle
Another Chrysler thread, more Chrysler bashing. What else is new?
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Chrysler bring it on themselves.

XS
Which will mean the current challenger will be worth stupid amounts of money at auction in 40-50 years just like the old Mopars are today LOL. Seriously, old Challengers are rarer than Mustangs or Camaros becuas they were an inferior car when they were sold, but now they out-auction almost every American vehicle out there (with Shelby and some Corvettes being the exception). So there's some consumer advice for ya, if you want a car that may be worth crazy amounts of money when you retire, buy this car.
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There are other types of Mustangs and Camaro and other chevy in general that out bid Mopars, but car for car, more so than not old Mopars are worth far more than anything else. You're more likely to have a mopar from that era worth something than a Ford or Chevy. Also the inferior and less the loved type angle didn't and still doesn't help old AMCs sell for tons of money at auction. Sure you could sell an orignal javelin for a ton of money but not six figures.

Also with as mass produced as these cars are compared to the 60s/70s I don't see it being the same. As shown these cars sell more than the rest and the only version I can see being worth money is this or the original 6.1 425hp Challenger.
 
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Müle
Another Chrysler thread, more Chrysler bashing. What else is new?
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Its a bit more complicated than that.

Fiat-Chrysler on the whole has this entire black/white approach to the way they're doing their cars and trucks that it just seems so strange to see a car like the Challenger floundering - when it very clearly has a ton of potential. Yes, we understand that Fiat-Chrysler does have a bit of a money constraint, but, if they want to be taken seriously, they have to approach the game seriously, not just just offer up lowballed "special models" with little or no actual advancement since the car showed up in 2009/2010.

So, they've gone and updated the Charger and 300C - cars that I think many of us can agree are pretty good, and would even be (in some trims) reasonable competition to vehicles higher up the food chain. Same can be said for the Durango, a pretty good effort in its class, with a wide variety of models and hardware to appeal to many people. The Grand Cherokee is top-notch, updates to the Wrangler have been fantastic, and the new Renegade has a lot of promise as well. The Dart is a good car, but they don't have the same kind of oomph that it needed to be as competitive with the Focus and the Cruze as it should have been.

And that's really the entire problem with Chrysler. A few models aside, many of their efforts have been a, "We think people would like this. Here you go. Good enough." and that's really about it. Models from GM and Ford are updated as often as every year in order to remain competitive. Why hasn't Chrysler attempted anything like that on what should be mainstream models? This is why we criticize them so heavily.

Hopefully something like the new Chrysler 200 will turn that around, and be the start of something good for Fiat-Chrysler. But, we said the same thing about the Dart. We're still seeing if it'll be the same thing for the Cherokee. Maybe someday, when we get a new Challenger, they'll do the same thing, too.
 
YSSMAN
Its a bit more complicated than that.

Fiat-Chrysler on the whole has this entire black/white approach to the way they're doing their cars and trucks that it just seems so strange to see a car like the Challenger floundering - when it very clearly has a ton of potential. Yes, we understand that Fiat-Chrysler does have a bit of a money constraint, but, if they want to be taken seriously, they have to approach the game seriously, not just just offer up lowballed "special models" with little or no actual advancement since the car showed up in 2009/2010.

So, they've gone and updated the Charger and 300C - cars that I think many of us can agree are pretty good, and would even be (in some trims) reasonable competition to vehicles higher up the food chain. Same can be said for the Durango, a pretty good effort in its class, with a wide variety of models and hardware to appeal to many people. The Grand Cherokee is top-notch, updates to the Wrangler have been fantastic, and the new Renegade has a lot of promise as well. The Dart is a good car, but they don't have the same kind of oomph that it needed to be as competitive with the Focus and the Cruze as it should have been.

And that's really the entire problem with Chrysler. A few models aside, many of their efforts have been a, "We think people would like this. Here you go. Good enough." and that's really about it. Models from GM and Ford are updated as often as every year in order to remain competitive. Why hasn't Chrysler attempted anything like that on what should be mainstream models? This is why we criticize them so heavily.

Hopefully something like the new Chrysler 200 will turn that around, and be the start of something good for Fiat-Chrysler. But, we said the same thing about the Dart. We're still seeing if it'll be the same thing for the Cherokee. Maybe someday, when we get a new Challenger, they'll do the same thing, too.
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Facts in Order.
  • Dart had its "update" for 2014 with the 2.4L being the volume motor with a restructuring of the entire line up (no more "Ralley" trim)
  • Durango got its Cosmetic and Mechanical update in the winter.
  • Ram has had their update all throughout the fall-winter with the Pentastar/8spd, Diesel 1500, 6.4L standard in HD's and Now just this month, 3.6 Available in Higher trim 1500.
  • Launch of the Renegade
  • Launch of the New 200
  • Challenger gets a Big update this year (2015 MY) with the launch of the 6.2L SC, inclusion of the 8spd, brand new interior, and updated front and rear fascia also with updated suspension
  • Charger gets a very mild cosmetic update with a big mechanical update (8spds all around) after Challengers this year (2015MY). Rumor has it that it will get new sheetmetal.
  • 300's Update comes after Chargers, not much of a update (Interior)

as you can see Chrysler is doing what GM and Ford is doing. Also Chrysler has debuted 3 BRAND NEW model replacements (Cherokee, Renegade, 200).Its spring time right now and this is when the LX's get their refresh and updates. Also These updates (that have happened so far except the 200) is bigger (somewhat better) attempt that Fords did to its Expedition and Navigator...thats what you Call ""We think people would like this. Here you go. Good enough." (which really applies to the dart)
 
Except none of that has anything to do with this car.

It gets more power. So what.

Both the Camaro and Mustang have gotten much lighter, both now have IRS as standard, with absolutely ridiculous power outputs, several facelifts and overall improvements.

The Challenger has nothing to show for it.
 

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