Widebody Dodge Challenger 392 Races 2023 Nissan Z, U.S. Versus Japan Rivalry Is Strong

Similar to the successor of the 370Z, the Challenger is a little outdated in certain aspects. The pre-facelift LC and post-facelift LA platforms, for example, can trace their roots back to 2004 when the LX rolled out.

The LX was developed with help from Mercedes-Benz during the DaimlerChrysler era. Once dubbed a merger of equals, the honeymoon turned sour in less than a decade because Daimler and Chrysler are extremely different in many regards. Another issue for the alliance’s failure is the lack of synergies between the German and American automakers, a lack of synergies made very obvious after Chrysler became Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The Auburn Hills-based automaker is currently joined at the hip to Groupe PSA.

Pictured at Sam CarLegion’s trademark location in Canada, the gray-painted Z and green-painted Challenger are very different cars for very different people. Both are rear-wheel drive and feature torque-converter automatic transmissions, but do bear in mind that we’re dealing with a DOHC twin-turbo V6 engine versus a SOHC naturally-aspirated V8.

Internally referred to as Apache, the 6.4-liter HEMI in this Challenger belts out 485 horsepower and 475 pound-feet (644 Nm) of torque. From the flared wheel arches and Super Bee front-fender emblems, you can also tell that we’re dealing with a wide-bodied Scat Pack. The widebody part is of utmost importance, though, for it comes with much wider tires compared to the regular specification. More specifically, 305/35 R20 rubber mounted on 20- by 11-inch forged aluminum wheels in black.

The most performance-oriented version of the Z rocks 19-inch forged aluminum wheels from RAYS and Bridgestone Potenza S007 boots. The red-painted brake calipers give away the Performance grade as well. Equipped with a nine-speed automatic transmission produced by JATCO under license from Mercedes-Benz, the Japanese sports car is much obliged to crank out 400 ponies and 350 pound-feet (475 Nm) of twist.

Pretty good in comparison to the naturally-aspirated 370Z before it, but not good enough to fend off the aforementioned Challenger in the quarter mile. Both dig races conclude with dominant wins for the made-in-Canada Mopar machine, although the roll race from 32 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour) sees the Z cross the line ahead of the Challenger. The Challenger hooks up better from 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour), though, thus winning the race by quite a notable margin.