Dodge Challenger
Anyone that
knows me these days knew this one was coming. Although they may not have known
which one or when. I am going to cover a couple variations and Leave 2 models out
there for a later review and discussion. I happen to have some real-world
experience with this one as I have owned several and still have one to this
day. For me, it began in the summer of 2008. I lived in a small town that had a
race track located just on the edge of town. I saw the commercials and read all
of the news upon the announcement of the return of my favorite muscle car, the
Dodge Challenger. It would quickly become an obsession to own one. The reason I
mention the race track is because before the cars hit the lots, Dodge was in
Nascar and had a Dodge trailer of souvenirs at the track. I saw a tshirt with
the concept car on it and bought the shirt without a thought. I told my dad (whom
I was with at the track) that day that I would have one of these cars one day.
When Hot Wheels started releasing challengers, I bought every version I could
find on the pegs. Also found some nice Matchbox versions as well!
And here are several
that I was able to locate loose out of the collection to present. The orange
version is the first ‘concept’ version and first release of this casting. It is
called Dodge Challenger concept because it was not in on the streets just yet,
it was in production. Mattel did a perfect job recreating the concept version and
if you look close enough (I couldn’t quite capture it in the pictures), you can
make out the concept grill with the cross design. They put tampos on the
taillights for most versions, the Dodge logos are visible, the iconic hood
stripes and the orange paint is all spot on. I will complain slightly at the
door handles that are not correct and the spoiler on the SRT models (as this
casting represents) were black – minor details but details none the less. Then
it gets interesting. The casting got re-released once the cars gained popularity
and real life sales. It was re-released as a 2012 Challenger SRT8. The green
one represents this model. Also notable is the addition of the sunroof that
tells you which model is which although the casting for the concept car was put
on the shelf for a while. To summarize that, no sunroof=concept car,
sunroof=real version. The 2012 version shows off the correct, updated grill, corrected
door handles and the iconic gas lid that ties this car to the original 1970
Challenger it is modeled after.
This body
style ran from 2008 through 2011. In 2012, Dodge changed minor features to move
the retro look from the 70 Challenger to the 71-74 Challenger with new split
grill, separated tail lights and new interior but the basic shape remained the
same. Mattel didn’t miss a beat. The 2012 SRT and the 2015 SRT castings have
remained in the line up and appear in several specialty lines as well. There is
also a famous drifter – Sam Hubinette that ran a challenger on the drift
circuit for a while and his race livery was featured on the treasure hunt
version in 2013. The challenger drift car model features a big drift wing on
the back and lower rocker panel skirts. The liveries have been pretty stock for
the regular models (which I like) and the drift car has had some wild liveries
– Hubinette also had a red version that was featured on the inaugural release
of the mainline drift car version. In my opinion, this is a great casting that
captures all the looks and lines of the real car. The only thing I would like
to see them add is an RT version so I can have a 1:64 version of my real-life
car.
There are a
couple quick facts I would like to provide to help you recognize some of the interesting
design notes on the real cars and will help tie the Hot Wheels versions to the
real life cars. From 2008 to 2011, the SRT model had a 6.4 litre 426. The 2008
launch cars were all in hemi orange and featured a numbered plate on the dash.
These cars were to represent the looks of the 1970 Challenger and Dodge really did
a great job bringing the original looks into the present. If you want to debate
that, I will post a picture in the comments of my 2014 Plum Crazy Challenger
(real life) next to an original 1970 Challenger at a car show. This was the
beginning of a new era in US Muscle cars – the “Retro”. Ford and the latest
Mustangs started the retro trend and Dodge responded with the Challenger. The
Chargers were out but were mostly police use and not as retro in the increasing
muscle segment at this time quite possibly due to the fact that the chargers
are all automatics. They are plenty powerful enough to be fun to drive but the
curb weight keeps them from being top dog at the drag strip (until a later
issue). 2012 saw some minor body changes, most notably was the front air dam
was flipped over to provide better air flow and downforce. The carbon fibre
look hood stripes became optional and a brand new 6.1 litre hemi 392 was the
motor on the SRT versions. There were throwback colors (B5 blue, Plum crazy
purple and the bright green through the coming years). 2014 would be the end of
the style depicted here but gave way for a new interpretation and some more
power options. The car is a little bulkier than the original but the lines are
there and it is still unmistakable on the street. These cars have been featured
in TV shows (NCIS Los Angeles) and the Fast and Furious movies to name a couple
star appearances. Vin Diesel has also been doing commercials to help elevate
the Hype for these cars. If you don’t have the 100K to drop on a real Hemi 426 Dodge
Challenger from 1970, a 426 Challenger SRT from 2008 to 2011 can be found in
healthy condition for less than 30k. The SRT versions from 2012-2014 (392) can
also be found for around 35-40k in any area of the country.
Well, there is my trip to and through Muscleville
(copyright FCA US LLC) and a look at one of my favorite cars of today. Until we
meet again, hopefully it is in the check out line with a hand full of THs and a
couple Challengers to boot!
As always, although I own the diecast pictured in these
posts, all artwork, logos, car names, paint descriptions and wheel descriptions
are copyrights of the Mattel toy company.
Matchbox is a trademark of the Mattel company.
Dodge, Challenger and some paint names described herewith
are copyrights of the Dodge (now Fiat) or the FCA US LLC.
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