Right now, the only American pony or muscle car officially in production is the S650 seventh-generation Ford Mustang. Meanwhile, the Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger plus Charger are all playing cards together while 'enjoying' their forced retirement.
Both Stellantis and General Motors gave up on the 2023 Dodge Charger and Challenger plus the 2024 Chevrolet Camaro around the same time – in December 2023, they wrapped up production of the L-bodied cars and the sixth-gen 'Maro. Sadly, only one of them will get a new lease of life.
Stellantis has already kicked off the teaser campaign for the impending arrival of the 2025 Dodge Charger later this year. It will be produced on the all-new STLA Medium platform with both ICE and EV powertrain options – right now, the focus is on the Charger Daytona version as the nameplate comes back to its traditional two-door fastback body style, albeit with zero emissions powerplants.
Later on, it is believed by the rumor mill that a regular Charger series will arrive on the market with 3.0-liter inline-six Hurricane turbo mills to do battle with the Ford Mustang GT and Dark Horse. Until then, though, all we can do is enjoy the sight of the 'old' Ford Mustang S550 and the L-bodied Mopars. Of course, it's always best if we catch them in the middle of some feisty action at the local quarter-mile dragstrip.
Luckily, the videographer behind the Wheels channel on YouTube is a big fan of Bandimere Speedway in Colorado and Mission Raceway Park in Canada but also loves The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when it's chilly at the other locations. As such, here's a bit of Blue Oval versus Mopar action that will probably warm the hearts of quarter-mile dragstrip fans.
More precisely, a spectacular white and blue-striped Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 was out hunting that night, and the prey was a dark and menacing Dodge Challenger followed by an older Charger sedan. Unfortunately for everyone involved, the Mopars weren't of the SRT Hellcat variety. However, everyone should always expect the unexpected at the track, so the GT500 driver botched the first run against the Challenger and involved himself or herself in a recovery-style race.
Even with that handicap, the final difference was sizeable – 12.36s versus 13.67s for team Blue Oval. The second race was even more preposterous as the Shelby raced as it was supposed to, this time, and nailed a spectacular 11.06s victory versus a shameful 15.24s pass. Interestingly, after that, we get to see a contemporary Charger trying to duke it out with the EV future represented by a Kia EV6. Although it sounded magnificent, the Mopar sedan also got obliterated (11.73s versus 13.25s). Last but not least, there was also a Challenger versus Mustang GT skirmish, which was a lot more balanced.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News