Dodge has pulled the plug on its famed muscle car offerings– Challenger and Charger. This development comes barely a week after production for Chevrolet Camaro, one of its prime rivals, came to an end. Finas units of both muscle car siblings were rolled off the assembly line on December 22 at Stellantis’ plant in Brampton near Ontario in Canada.
It also marks the end of production of Stellantis’ LX platform that also underpinned Chrysler 300. The discontinuation of both these models along with the Chrysler 300 indicates Stellantis’ strong commitment towards electrified vehicles. The last Chrysler 300 rolled off the line just two days prior.
Dodge Charger, Challenger discontinued
The final Dodge Challenger was a Pitch Black SRT Demon 170 edition while the last Charger was a Scat Pack widebody model painted in Destroyer Gray. Both models can be seen rolling on golden-coloured alloy wheels. The American automaker didn’t share the fate of both these final units, so it’s unclear if they are customer cars or will be kept by Stellantis for posterity.
While the Charger was first launched in 2006, the Challenger made its official debut in 2008. The former is a traditional sedan and the latter is a two-door coupe both carrying muscular profiled courtesy of flared wheel arches, chunky bumpers, and rear spoilers. While the Challenger looked more retro in its appeal thanks to the round headlamps, the Charger carried more modern elements like sleek LED headlights.
Dodge Charger, Challenger powertrain specs
However, more than the design, it was the performance which made these muscle cars special. Under their hoods, the final units of the Charger and Challenger featured very potent V8s. The Charger was powered by a 6.4-litre naturally-aspirated Hemi V8 which pushed out 485 bhp. On the other hand, SRT Demon 170 special edition was powered by a 6.2-litre supercharged Hemi V8 which dished out a mammoth 1025 horses.
Both powertrains delivered power to the rear wheels of their respective vehicles either via a six-speed manual gearbox or an 8-speed automatic transmission. Besides the powertrains mentioned above, Dodge offered multiple other options for both models.
Dodge Charger, Challenger future
Although Dodge hasn’t confirmed, the replacement to Charger and Challenger will make their debut in the near future which are expected to ride on the STLA Medium platform and feature fully-electric as well as inline six-cylinder engine. However, it is yet to be seen if Dodge brings back the ‘Charger’ and ‘Challenger’ nameplates.
