2010 Dodge Charger 4dr Sdn Rwd on 2040-cars

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Performance doesn't matter anymore, it's all about the feel

We've just had a week of supercars and high-end EVs revealed. Many of them boast outrageous performance specs. There were multiple vehicles with horsepower in the four-figure range, and not just sports cars, but SUVs with 0-60 mph times under 3.5 seconds. And it's not just a rarified set of supercar builders, comparatively small tuners are also building this stuff. Going fast is easy nowadays and getting easier. So what will distinguish the greats from the wannabes? It's all about how a car feels. This may seem obvious. "Of course it matters that a car should have good steering feel and a playful chassis!" you say. "Why are you being paid for this stuff?" But a lot of automakers have missed the memo. This past week I spent some time in a BMW M4 Competition convertible, and it's a perfect example of prioritizing performance over experience. It boggles my mind how a company can create such dead and disconnected steering; the weight never changes, there's no feel whatsoever. The chassis is inflappable, but to a fault, because it doesn't feel like anything you're doing is difficult or exciting. The car is astoundingly fast and capable, but it feels less like driving a car and more like tapping in a heading on the Enterprise-D. I also happened to drive something of comparable performance that was much more enjoyable: a Mercedes-AMG GT. It was a basic model with the Stealth Edition blackout package, and even though it had a twin-turbo V8 instead of a six-cylinder, it only made 20 more horsepower. The power wasn't the big differentiator, it was (say it with me) the feel. While not the best example, the steering builds resistance as you dial in lock, giving you a better idea of what's happening up front. Pulses and vibrations come back to you as you move over bumpy pavement in corners. The chassis isn't quite as buttoned down, either, providing a little bit of body roll that tells you you're pushing it. It's also easier to feel when the car is wanting to understeer or oversteer, and how your throttle and steering inputs are affecting it. The whole thing is much more involving, exciting and fun. 2021 Mercedes-AMG GT Stealth Edition View 8 Photos That's also to say nothing of the Merc's sounds. That V8 is maybe not the best sounding engine, but its urgent churn through the opened-up exhaust gets your heart racing. It also seems like it's vibrating the whole cabin, so you feel it as much as you hear it.

2015 Dodge Viper getting small increase in power

The Viper is used to being the most powerful car in the Dodge and SRT stables, but the arrival of the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat means that's no longer the case. The serpentine supercar is, however, reportedly getting a small boost in output for 2015, amounting to all of five horsepower.
The increase was uncovered by Road & Track courtesy of the SAE J1349 certification process to which Detroit's Big Three automakers submit themselves and which reports the Viper's output at 645 hp instead of the 640 it was rated at until now. There are a hundred factors that could have contributed to the relatively mild boost in output (best guess? nothing at all changed...), but we doubt anyone's going to complain about some extra horses under the hood.
The five-horsepower boost brings the Viper that much closer to the 650-hp Chevy Corvette Z06, not to mention the 707-hp Hellcat, but the Viper's impressive power-to-weight ratio ought to mean it'll have little problem keeping up in a straight line - which is just one of the reasons why Chrysler won't shoe-horn the Hellcat into the Viper: as R&T points out, the supercharged engine is too heavy and the blower makes it too tall to fit in the Viper's engine bay.

Dodge Challenger Shakedown: '71 body, new guts

While Jeep has created a number of vintage-bodied custom vehicles with modern components, this year's SEMA show plays host to Dodge's take on the idea. The Shakedown concept began life as a 1971 Challenger and ditched almost everything in it, including the engine and chassis. What's left is a modern car with a retro look. The chassis was a particularly complicated part of the job, since the Challenger was originally a unibody car. However, Dodge chose to separate the Challenger's iconic body from its structural parts, and moved it onto a custom, one-off chassis from which the body can be removed as needed. The chassis also carries lowered suspension, Challenger Hellcat brakes, and a 6.4-liter 392 Hemi V8 connected to a six-speed manual transmission from the Viper. Dodge also installed the engine using the new Hemi engine swap kit from Mopar. With the shaker cold-air intake and custom exhaust, the Shakedown's powerplant makes 485 horsepower. View 13 Photos The body itself received plenty of tweaking as well. Dodge shaved off the drip rails, door handles, and turn signals for a cleaner look, and also fitted the grille, headlights, and taillights from a 2017 Challenger. The whole thing is finished in matte black paint with a "vibrating" stripe offset on the left side. The Shakedown also gets 20-inch Slingshot rear wheels and a pair of custom 19-inch versions for the front. On each fender is a bright red "392" decal that uses the same font as the labels on classic Mopars 360 cubic-inch V8s. Inside, the Shakedown gets the same radical upgrade as the chassis. Two Viper seats accompany a Viper steering wheel, and the rear seats are gone altogether. The Viper gearbox is shifted with a Challenger Hellcat gear knob, and carbon-fiber accents and leather adorn the wheel, door panels, instrument panel and center console. Related Video: Image Credit: FCA, Joel Stocksdale SEMA Show Dodge Coupe Concept Cars Performance