It=92s unusual for a niche vehicle to experience increasing sales years after its introduction, but that=92s exactly what has happened to the Dodge Challenger.
Oddly enough, 2010 has been the best year set for sales of the big coupe, so it=92s no wonder that the 2011 model has received some upgrades to keep it in the sales race. The new top of the Challenger line is the 6.4-liter SRT8 392, which adds more power, a revised suspension and brand-spankin=92 new white leather seats. About that 392 name: It=92s derived from the revised engine=92s displacement, which emulates the drag race and top-speed challenge winning =9260s 392 HEMIs. Of course, this engine is entirely modern.
We took it for a spin around Northern California=92s Infineon Raceway to see what=92s changed.
Power to spare Last year=92s SRT-8 packed a 6.1 liter HEMI V-8 and produced 425 horsepower, hardly making it a slouch. The new engine ups the ante to
470 horsepower and 470 lb-ft. of torque. More of a good thing.That second number is important because the Chrysler engineers wanted to dramatically increase the way Challenger drivers perceive the =93shove in the back=94 delivered through the six-speed Tremec manual or five-speed Mercedes-Benz-designed automatic transmission. The additional displacement and new tuning is apparent from throttle tip- in; this engine is stronger across the rev band and feels genuinely heroic at times.
The old SRT8 was occasionally less than magic on a racetrack, mostly due to an unwillingness to negotiate low-speed corners. This year=92s car features new shock absorbers, revised suspension bushings and grip- friendly negative camber on all four corners. The improvement is apparent from our first turn at Sonoma=92s Infineon Raceway, where the Challenger hangs on gamely through the slow stuff and holds additional corner speed in the fast back section.
Grip is up to 0.93 g=92s on the skidpad, Dodge says, but numbers only go so far to explain the wholly revised driving experience.
It=92s a real pleasure to steer and although it will never trouble a modern Corvette on-track, a 370Z might not be completely safe.
Inaugural Package shines Get your order in quickly, because 1,492 2011 Challenger SRT8s will be available as the =93Inaugural Package,=94 featuring racing stripes and rather outrageous interior. Our sources say that all of the available cars have been spoken for, either through customer pre-orders or dealer inventory requests, so be prepared to pay solid money to get behind the wheel of one.
The package is strictly cosmetic, however; all the go-fast stuff can be found beneath the skin of every 2011 SRT-8 model.
We have plenty of laps around Infineon under our belt, and although our time in the Challenger was limited, we feel confident in predicting that it will stay close to a Ford Shelby GT500 in most situations and probably put a little gap on the Chevrolet Camaro SS. You can=92t beat the laws of physics, but with this latest round of suspension tuning the Dodge boys have managed to make it a pleasure to steer this rather large and bulky coupe around a racetrack.
Entering Infineon=92s Turn One at over 100 mph will make a believer out of all but the staunchest domestic denigrator.
Leftlane=92s bottom line It isn=92t cheap and it won=92t be easy to get, but the 2011 Inaugural Edition will be a real treat for everybody lucky enough to put one in their driveway. We=92ll take a regular 6.4-liter SRT-8 in black or possibly the new =93Green With Envy=94 for all the performance at a slightly reduced cost.
But any way you paint it, the changes add up to more precision and more power for Dodge=92s retro-modern coupe.
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Patrick