Ford Mustang
(Shelby) vs. Dodge Challenger
A few
years
ago,
Ford
struck
first
with its
late-1960s-inspired
gen-five
Mustang
and
still
had the
segment
all to
itself
when it
released
the
reincarnated,
high-output
Shelby
Mustang
GT500.
But
Ford's
solitary
rule of
the
muscle
car time
machine
is over.
Not that
the
assault
against
the
Mustang's
dominion
will
take
even
that
long to
commence:
A third
time
traveler,
Dodge's
hotly
awaited
Challenger
coupe,
has
already
charged
into the
fray.
Not too
long
ago, the
one-of-a-kind
concept
car that
led to
the
production
Challenger
you see
here.
While
the
concept
was a
hand
built
showpiece,
not
sorted
for
road-testing,
the
essentials
were in
place:
6.1-liter
Hemi
V-8,
bulging
wheels
and
tires,
an
updated
interpretation
of that
unmistakable
1970
shape
made
iconic
by the
1971
cult-hit
movie
"Vanishing
Point."
The
faithful
nodded
their
collective
heads in
admiration
of
Dodge's
show-car
handiwork,
but
almost
immediately
the
rumblings
began.
Despite
every
exterior
surface
being
different,
the
production
Challenger
is a
near-clone
of the
fervor-building
show
star,
sporting
necessary
alterations
that do
little
to
diminish
the
shape's
impact.
Whereas
the
concept's
bodywork
tucked
in
dramatically
at its
lower
edges (a
feature
designers
admitted
early on
would
never
make it
to
showrooms),
the
production
car
wears a
thick
black
band
along
the
bottom
of the
body, an
addition
that
both
simplifies
metal
shaping
and
visually
reduces
the
perceived
thickness
of the
car's
flanks.
The
famed
four-headlamp
"bandit"
grille,
borrowed
straight
from
1970,
remains,
though
Dodge
admits
to
considerable
wind-tunnel
work and
changes
to the
hood's
overhang
needed
to
reduce
lift (a
new
black
rear
spoiler
also
appears
to
reduce
rear
lift). A
thicker
B-pillar
enhances
roof
strength,
clever
design
work has
retained
the
"full-width"
look of
the tail
lamps,
and a
new,
chrome
fuel-filler
flap
adds
exterior
drama.
Gone is
all
costly
carbon
fiber;
the
production
car is
crafted
in
steel.
Though
the
concept's
interior
wore
splashes
of
brushed-aluminum
in the
dash and
center
console,
the
production
Challenger
will
look
familiar
to
anyone
who's
seen the
inside
of a
Charger
or a
300C.
The
same,
huge
four-spoke
steering
wheel
greets
drivers;
it's a
shame
Dodge
hasn't
employed
a
smaller,
sportier
three-spoke
rim-at
least in
the
top-level
SRT8
edition.
No
complaints
about
the
seats,
though:
They're
beefy,
leather
SRT8
buckets,
comfy
for
extended
cruising
and
ready to
embrace
max-lat
maneuvering.
For 2008, the Challenger's
first model year, Dodge will
sell the car only in
high-output SRT8 trim:
6.1-liter Hemi making 425
horsepower and 420
pound-feet, 20-inch
forged-aluminum rims, Brembo
four-piston discs front and
rear, five-speed automatic.
Dodge simply wasn't able to
get a six-speed manual ready
in time, and that's a
glaring omission-the
Challenger should've
reappeared with a manual
first, including the famed
pistol-grip shift lever.
Still, even before release
Dodge had already sold
nearly all of the 6400
Challenger SRT8s it intends
to build the first year. And
the pistol-grip Tremec
six-speed version will
arrive for 2009-along with
an R/T model (370-horse,
5.7-liter Hemi V-8 with
either transmission) and a
base car (250-horse,
3.5-liter V-6; automatic
only) that should start at
under $24K.
Even without a manual, the
Challenger SRT8 has the
hardware to step straight
into the corral with Ford's
Shelby Mustang GT500. Though
based on a platform that's
showing its age
(translation: "live axle"),
the GT500 is hardly past its
prime. Its supercharged,
5.4-liter V-8 thunders with
500 horsepower and 480
pound-feet, it erases speed
with giant Brembo discs
(four-piston in front), it
shifts with a slick
six-speed manual, its
blazing-red bodywork and
dual racing stripes
intimidate like the angry
Cobra it wears in badge
form.
At the dragstrip, the Shelby
Mustang quickly put to rest
any notions about cobwebs,
blazing to 60 mph in just
4.3 seconds and closing out
the quarter mile in 12.6
seconds at 114.2
mph-bettering the scorching
numbers we recorded with our
last GT500 (December 2006).
Launching the Challenger, in
contrast, is child's play:
Hold revs at about 1800 rpm
with a dab of brakes, then
let 'er rip. The SRT8 will
lay down repeatable 4.7s run
after run.
The Shelby's weight and
torque advantage helped it
circle our figure-eight
course a half-second quicker
than the Challenger, though
the Dodge's beefier Goodyear
Eagle F1s (a mere $50
option) and larger Brembos
gave it a slight edge in
stopping power.
Typical first impressions
after climbing aboard the
Challenger: "Wow. This is a
big car." And it is,
checking-in nearly 10 inches
longer than the Shelby, 2.5
inches taller, and almost
two inches wider. The
Challenger is truly
old-school that way; there
aren't many automobiles left
that showcase such a brash
expanse of hood through the
windshield (those hood
scoops, by the way, are
fully functional). Yet the
Challenger is also a grownup
car, its fully independent
suspension hanging poised
over roads that cause the
live-axle GT500 to step
about, its structure feeling
stouter, its interior far
more expensively dressed,
the big-bore rumble of its
naturally aspirated Hemi V-8
a more stirring
accompaniment than the
Shelby's toy-like
supercharged whine. And
while the Shelby has a
slight edge in steering
finesse-the Challenger feels
numb and intentionally
slow-the GT500 also feels
nose-heavy. For such a
broad-shouldered car, the
SRT8 is impressively
balanced.
There is one Challenger
criticism: It's almost too
well-mannered. The
suspension settings feel
right (a stiffer rider would
cut driving comfort at the
expense of a dubious
handling gain), but the
Challenger could use more
crackle and boom in its
exhaust. Racier headers will
no doubt prove a popular
aftermarket accessory; the
pistol-fired 2009 SRT8
should have them standard.
The Shelby Mustang GT500
remains a fast and
compelling piece, but the
Challenger is simply a
better-sorted automobile, a
20th-century icon reborn
with 21st-century
sophistication and poise.
Kudos, Dodge, but remember:
Don't spare the sizzle for
2009. Retro Round Two,
Challenger versus Camaro,
will be here before you can
say "time warp."