Photo: Unnecessary automobile nose swaps./Facebook
I have yet to meet an enthusiast who doesn't long for the sheer V10 awesomeness of the Viper, which was retired back in 2017, with no clear resurrection plans in sight. But how passionate do you have to be to fit the nose (and the wing) of the most savage model, the ACR Extreme, to the Dodge Challenger Hellcat Widebody? Of course, this is a mere rendering and rather than simply adding to the face swap pixel madness that has taken over the Internet, this pixel play helps us talk about the rumored Challenger ACR, whose development was just denied by the carmaker.
The past week was loaded with reports on Dodge preparing an American Club Racer incarnation of the Challenger. This would be inspired by the namesake version of the Viper, which still holds lap records at multiple tracks, so the aero, the handling and the stopping would require serious updates. As for the firepower, this would be HEMI-provided by either the carmaker's N/A 6.4-liter V8 or its supercharged 6.2-liter motor.
However, following a phone conversation with somebody over at Dodge, Autoweek now writes that the company has denied such an initiative.
Of course, this wouldn't be the first time when an automaker tries to lead the performance hounds away fron sniffing out in-the-making projects. However, the business case behind the Challenger ACR may or may not be too solid. And it all has to do with the scale footprint of the big coupe.
You see, the current Challenger Hellcat weighs in at 4,429 lbs, with the said reports talking about a diet that would've allowed the thing to shed some 400 lbs. Well, the result would've still been considerably meatier than the track specials like the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R (3,703 lbs) or the Nurburgring-taming Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE (3,820 lbs).
However, such a transformation would've affected two key assets of the Challenger, namely its pricing and usability, thus catering to the needs of a very limited audience - by the way, we'll tip our helmets to the Unnecessary automobile nose swaps. Facebook group for the rendering we have here.
That's not to say a Dodge Challenger that can give sportscars a hard time on the track (for the record, this badge already packs respectable handling) makes for anything less than an enticing proposal, at least from where I'm standing.
However, with or without the ACR treatment, Dodge is expected to introduce new specials for the Challenger - while the platform of the current generation dates back to 2008, the retro design and the plethora of derivatives have kept the two-door in a favorable position, as, for instance, this outsold the Camaro last year, albeit sitting behind the Mustang. And since the architecture is expected to soldier on until 2023, I can't wait to see where this SRT road takes us.
However, following a phone conversation with somebody over at Dodge, Autoweek now writes that the company has denied such an initiative.
Of course, this wouldn't be the first time when an automaker tries to lead the performance hounds away fron sniffing out in-the-making projects. However, the business case behind the Challenger ACR may or may not be too solid. And it all has to do with the scale footprint of the big coupe.
You see, the current Challenger Hellcat weighs in at 4,429 lbs, with the said reports talking about a diet that would've allowed the thing to shed some 400 lbs. Well, the result would've still been considerably meatier than the track specials like the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R (3,703 lbs) or the Nurburgring-taming Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE (3,820 lbs).
However, such a transformation would've affected two key assets of the Challenger, namely its pricing and usability, thus catering to the needs of a very limited audience - by the way, we'll tip our helmets to the Unnecessary automobile nose swaps. Facebook group for the rendering we have here.
That's not to say a Dodge Challenger that can give sportscars a hard time on the track (for the record, this badge already packs respectable handling) makes for anything less than an enticing proposal, at least from where I'm standing.
However, with or without the ACR treatment, Dodge is expected to introduce new specials for the Challenger - while the platform of the current generation dates back to 2008, the retro design and the plethora of derivatives have kept the two-door in a favorable position, as, for instance, this outsold the Camaro last year, albeit sitting behind the Mustang. And since the architecture is expected to soldier on until 2023, I can't wait to see where this SRT road takes us.
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