Dodge Challenger SRT8 vs. Ford Shelby GT500: The 2008 Muscle Car Battle Nobody Saw Coming

Nixon may not be in the White House, but among the Big Three it's 1970 all over again. [This story originally appeared in the July 2008 issue of MotorTrend with the headline "Time Travelers."] Something's wrong. Parked outside is a brand-new Dodge Challenger. Next to it, a freshly baked Ford Shelby GT500. Yet nowhere in the CBS television lineup can I find a listing for that funny new series The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Also, what's with all this gray hair? I'm only nine years old. Quick check of the morning newspaper: A-ha! It's 2008, not 1970. Those two muscle machines outside sure confused the issue. Hey! Who ate my Space Food Sticks? Viva the American retro-car revolution. Three 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 GT500 version for 2007. But Ford's solitary rule of the musclecar time machine is over. In six months, the Mustang's most feared rival, the Chevrolet Camaro, will return after seven years of reclusion in a suite high atop a Radisson near Warren, Michigan. 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. It was two years ago (MT, August 2006) that we drove the one-of-a-kind concept car that led to the production Challenger you see here. While the concept was a handbuilt 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. "You gotta consider the Michael Jackson factor," said many. "The next time we see it, how much of that stuff will have fallen off?" Fear not, Mopar mavens: 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. The production version's most significant edit is a three-inch trim in width-a revision you'd notice only if you happen to have the concept car handy for comparison. 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 taillamps, 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 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

Dodge Challenger SRT8 vs. Ford Shelby GT500: The 2008 Muscle Car Battle Nobody Saw Coming

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