Once again, the environment took center stage at the Detroit International Auto Show last January.  And true enough, the once brash and displacement hungry American car makers are beginning to embrace technology such as four-cylinder engines and hybrids.  However, whether you’re a self-professed environmentalist or a horsepower junkie, we know you still crave for power.  So, Dodge, seemingly not concerned with the “green theme” of the show dusted off the Challenger nameplate after thirty-five years of absence.  But can the all-new 2008 Challenger live up to the hype, or will it left in the dust in America’s latest pony car wars?

It’s quite a surprise to actually see the Challenger in production guise given Chrysler’s less than stellar financial situation.  Still, after going independent from Daimler, here it is: bold, raunchy and the worse statement of green ever. 

Based off the same platform that underpins the 300C, Magnum and Charger, the Challenger is definitely not small—running to a length of 5,023 mm.  And a width just a smidge below two meters, this car will poise to become a valet’s worse nightmare.  Still, you cannot deny the delectable two-seater pony car styling.  The unitized steel body is sculpted to look like the 1970’s Challenger, and there are retro cues everywhere: the round headlamps, high-belt line, square-cut tail pipes and rear lamps that stretch the entire backside.  If those aren’t enough, the Challenger also has stripes running down the bonnet.  Though they look black, upon closer inspection, they are actually a carbon-fiber like pattern.  And since the Challenger will be launched as an SRT model first, it comes standard with 20-inch tires (245/45 R 20 in front, 255/45 R 20 at the back) and only a choice of three colors including the famous HEMI Orange.

With a suffix of ‘8’ on its SRT badge, it connotes the now infamous 6.1-liter HEMI V8 under its hood.  Since it’s the same engine found under the 300C SRT8 and Charger SRT8, the Challenger SRT8 is proud of its 425 horsepower and 570 Nm of torque.  The adaptive five-speed automatic, also found in the rest of the SRT8 variants, feature a driver override system called AutoStick.  All in all, expect the Challenger SRT8 to do around 5.52 km/L in a combined city/highway cycle—good thing it has a 70 liter tank.

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