Photo: ralphgilles/instagram
Whenever an automaker opens up its design studios to the world, a practice we can, fortunately, enjoy more and more these days, enthusiasts get to peek at developments that normally remain confined to the company's archives. The latest styling window of the sort, which comes from the world of Dodge, might be small, but it's certainly significant to the many fans of the brand and muscle car lovers in general.
The image we have here, which reveals some colors the carmaker has sampled behind closed doors, comes from Ralph Gilles, one of the two global design directors of Stellantis, the 50-50 merger of Groupe PSA and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
Gilles doesn't mention Dodge in particular, but the models used for the paint samples show the silhouette of the Challenger, both the 1970 original and the 2006 concept that introduced the modern incarnation of the muscle car.
The executive, who often takes to social media to deliver insights into the company's operations, as well as offer us glimpses of his driving life, also dropped a few details in the description of the post, talking about the color experiments the designers make in order to keep the production shades relevant.
"In teaming up with our exterior studios our Color and Materials mastering team is willing to try a lot of fun stuff that doesn’t always make it to production. Some times even our naming practices get a little too salty," the designer states.
The final part of the explanation obviously referenced the "Michigan Salt" hue that takes center stage in the photo. And with the state's famous Detroit salt mine having been in operation for well over a century, the name of this shade shouldn't come as a surprise. The food and leather industries may have been the top customers at first, but nowadays the majority of the salt extracted from the site is used for road deicing.
And while the rough winters of the state require quite a bit of attention in this regard, with enthusiasts always making efforts to prevent the salt from affecting the finish of their vehicles, this name is one that resonates with us.
Then again, not all the hues in the photo are new. For one, the Sinamon Stick we see to the right was added to the Dodge lineup last year, while also being offered on the 2020 Chrysler 300.
As for the bright yellow shade visible in the upper right of the image, we can only hope it's the Gold Rush color that turned heads on the 2020 Dodge Challenger 50th Anniversary Edition and has returned for 2021.
Until Dodge delivers more info on the potentially electrified future of its muscle cars, the eye candy sitting before us might help in dealing with the anticipation.
Gilles doesn't mention Dodge in particular, but the models used for the paint samples show the silhouette of the Challenger, both the 1970 original and the 2006 concept that introduced the modern incarnation of the muscle car.
The executive, who often takes to social media to deliver insights into the company's operations, as well as offer us glimpses of his driving life, also dropped a few details in the description of the post, talking about the color experiments the designers make in order to keep the production shades relevant.
"In teaming up with our exterior studios our Color and Materials mastering team is willing to try a lot of fun stuff that doesn’t always make it to production. Some times even our naming practices get a little too salty," the designer states.
The final part of the explanation obviously referenced the "Michigan Salt" hue that takes center stage in the photo. And with the state's famous Detroit salt mine having been in operation for well over a century, the name of this shade shouldn't come as a surprise. The food and leather industries may have been the top customers at first, but nowadays the majority of the salt extracted from the site is used for road deicing.
And while the rough winters of the state require quite a bit of attention in this regard, with enthusiasts always making efforts to prevent the salt from affecting the finish of their vehicles, this name is one that resonates with us.
Then again, not all the hues in the photo are new. For one, the Sinamon Stick we see to the right was added to the Dodge lineup last year, while also being offered on the 2020 Chrysler 300.
As for the bright yellow shade visible in the upper right of the image, we can only hope it's the Gold Rush color that turned heads on the 2020 Dodge Challenger 50th Anniversary Edition and has returned for 2021.
Until Dodge delivers more info on the potentially electrified future of its muscle cars, the eye candy sitting before us might help in dealing with the anticipation.
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