2013 Dodge Challenger R/t on 2040-cars

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Marchionne nixes talk of a reborn Dodge Viper

UPDATE: According to Automobile Magazine's Todd Lassa, FCA chief Sergio Marchionne shot down the idea of a reborn Viper, saying "it's not in the plan." Marchionne was referring to Fiat Chrysler's five-year plan, which we've been covering in bits and pieces as the news filters out. But it's not out of the realm of possibility, apparently, as Marchionne reportedly said he'd be happy to see the reptilian supercar back in production. And it's not all bad news, anyway. A reborn Alfa Romeo 8C will get a carbon-fiber chassis holding a mid-mounted twin-turbo V6. With more than 700 horsepower, including an electrically-driven front axle, the car should hit 62 mph in fewer than 3 seconds. Also, three versions of a Maserati Alfieri will be produced, including a convertible. An electrified all-wheel-drive powertrain is planned. So, performance is coming from FCA, it just may not be from Dodge. View 36 Photos First came the mourning for the Dodge Viper, which ended production last year. Then came the Viper's continued sales run as a "Zombie Car;" we just wrote about how the Viper has racked up 11 sales so far this year, two of them in April. Now Car and Driver reports that the two-seater snake will return shorty for its second encore after being discontinued in 2009. The mag isn't equivocal about it, either, writing, "trust us: A new Viper is happening." It won't, however, be the same Viper that brought ten-cylinder brass knuckles to shake down other coupes for their wallets and jewelry. CD says we should expect the same front-mid-engine layout and rear-wheel drive tucked into a new spaceframe. That engine will lose two cylinders, with Chrysler's next-gen, aluminum-block V8 Hemi slotting into the engine bay. The previous Viper's V10 had grown to 8.4 liters and 640 horsepower by the time it drove into the sunset. CD guesses the coming Viper will start with a naturally-aspirated version of the Hemi V8 working up around 550 horsepower. Healthy doses of aluminum and carbon fiber would restrain the car's weight, on top of the weight loss from swapping an iron V10 for an aluminum V8. SRT could tart up the horsepower with a few performance trims, before a supercharged V8 with 700-plus horsepower arrives at some point after launch. The mag also suspects the initial offering will be a convertible, the hardtop appearing "a few years after launch," which could coincide with the more powerful engine. A row-your-own shifter will sit between the seats.

Will Dodge limit 2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat to 1,200 units?

With over 700 horsepower on tap and a price tag barely over $60k, Dodge appears on paper to have a winner on its hands with the new Challenger SRT Hellcat. But if you want to get your hands on one, you may have to act quicker than this most powerful of muscle cars covers the quarter-mile.
That's because, according to our compatriots over at Edmunds, Dodge may limit production - in the first year, at least - to just 1,200 units. That would amount to barely a quarter of the Challengers that Dodge moves each month, and would also mean only one Hellcat for every two Dodge dealers in the US - which could lead to some serious contention over which stores and which customers can get their hands on the ultimate Challenger.
Reached for comment, SRT spokesman Dan Reid told Autoblog that "there is no plan to limit production of the Challenger Hellcat," echoing the words of Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis who told Edmunds: "We don't know what the market demand is." Which doesn't mean that it won't restrict production, but doesn't mean that it will, either. It just hasn't decided yet - or announced any such decision, at any rate - over what will be the final allocation strategy for what could be a game-changing muscle car. That is, at least, until new versions of the Mustang and Camaro come along in pursuit of Dodge's bragging rights...

Junkyard Gem: 1990 Dodge Daytona Shelby

Once Lee Iacocca took the helm at Chrysler and shifted nearly all car models to front-wheel-drive platforms — either members of the convoluted K family or descendants of the Simca-derived Omnirizon platform — he called up his pal Carroll Shelby and made a deal to help with the design of some Shelby-ized, turbocharged Dodges. This relationship resulted in the Shelby Charger starting in 1983 and the Omni GLH in 1984. For 1987, the K-based Dodge Shadow and Daytona got the Shelby treatment, and suddenly the roads of North America were awash in Shelby-badged turbocharged machinery. Most are long gone by now, but I managed to unearth this tattered and rusty '90 Shelby Daytona at a Denver yard. The Shelby Daytona stayed in production through the 1991 model year (when the car got both Shelby and IROC badging, and does anybody remember the IROC Daytona today?), but most of the examples I've found during my wrecking-yard explorations have been earlier models. You won't find many '90 or '91 Daytona Shelbys. Some junkyard shopper pulled the cylinder head and all the turbo-related goodness before I reached this car. That makes sense, because the 1990 Daytona Shelby's turbocharged 2.2-liter engine made 174 horsepower— way more than most previous turbo Chryslers. Maybe someone hot-rodded their Plymouth Caravelle with those parts. This car has the five-speed manual transmission, as it should. Note the New Car Scent Little Tree, which is the second-most common junkyard-found air freshener (after Black Ice). It's not hard to identify the main reason this car got discarded: catastrophic (by Colorado standards) body rot. 171,349 miles is pretty decent for a nervous turbocharged car from 30 years ago. I don't see many Colorado junkyard cars with brewery and/or skiing-related stickers that don't also have stickers from cannabis dispensaries, but here's one. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Pretty much just as good as the Porsche 911 Turbo, and $70,000 cheaper! Featured Gallery Junked 1990 Dodge Daytona Shelby View 21 Photos Auto News Dodge Automotive History Coupe Carroll Shelby shelby Junkyard Gems