test drive Dodge Challenger SRT8: average mileage

Evasion Challenger and Hemi engine - this combination evokes haunting associations of blue smoke clouds around the rear wheels and the ominous sound of exhaust pipes. The iconic car of the early 70s is back, and everything about it (almost) looks like time.

At the beginning of this story, we must definitely remember Mr. Kowalski. However, without this movie hero, the Dodge Challenger would look like a hamburger without ketchup - not bad, but somehow unfinished. In the cult film Vanishing Point, Barry Newman races across the western states in a white 1970 Challenger Hemi and must cover the distance from Denver to San Francisco in 15 hours. The hellish chase with the police ended fatally - a powerful explosion as a result of the impact of two bulldozers that blocked the road. It was the end of Kowalski's career as a car salesman, but not his Challenger. The filmmakers decided the Dodge was too expensive an investment for a spectacular disaster cascade, so it's actually filled with an old 1967 Chevrolet Camaro.

More importantly, Challenger continues his career in real life. The first units of the current Challenger successor are the same, and feature the most powerful engine in the Hemi series, a 6,1-litre eight-cylinder engine. The gearbox is a six-speed automatic. This year it is planned to release more affordable modifications with six-cylinder engines under the hood.

Family traits

The orange lacquer and black longitudinal stripes are taken directly from the legendary prototype of the 70s. It's the same with body molds created by designer Chip Fuus, which look like an updated version of those classics that today only live in the garages of avid collectors. What may annoy the die-hard puritans is that the new Challenger is incomparably larger and more massive than its compact predecessor. What has its advantages - the likelihood that this car will not go unnoticed anywhere is as insignificant as not noticing the presence of a king penguin in the middle of a nudist beach. Powerful 20-inch wheels and chrome Hemi 6.1 lettering on the front cover speak very clear language - this is pure American Power.

When you press the start button, you can expect memories of the craziest era of American automobile development to immediately take over his mind. However, that's not quite what's going on... A cultivated modern osmak "burns through a quarter of a turn", followed by restrained babbling and perfectly calm idleness - nothing to do with the original, literally animal manners of the legendary Hemi from the good old days.

The good old days

A light touch on the accelerator pedal is enough for the tachometer needle to point to the red border, and the genes of the 70s began to show. The motor performs its nostalgic song masterfully - somewhat muffled by modern requirements, but quite emotionally. When upshifting from the exhaust system, you can even hear the sound of the years when the end silencers were not required on a car with a license to drive on public roads.

On top of that, the Challenger rushes ahead at a speed that makes its predecessor envious – 5,5 seconds from standstill to 100 km / h, according to our measuring equipment. The top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h, and the Challenger achieves it with enviable speed and ease. The automatic transmission performs its duties almost imperceptibly, but with the highest quality, and the choice of position D is quite enough. But the manual transmission is also very satisfying, if only because of the ability to control the acoustic environment in the cockpit.

For American cars, acceleration performance is perhaps the most important, so having a beautiful Performance-Display on the dashboard looks out of place. On it you can see your acceleration time from 0 to 100 km / h or the classic quarter mile with a standing start, if necessary, there are even parameters such as lateral acceleration and braking distance. The assist screen in question aside, the Challenger's interior looks pretty simple - a simple, modern car with a well-designed interior and surprisingly comfortable seats, but no memorable atmosphere.

Past era

If you look closely, you can understand something that hardly occurred to you when you got into a sports car. Yes, there is no mistake - the lever on the left side behind the steering wheel, which controls the turn signals and wipers, is one of the universal parts of Mercedes. And no wonder - under the sheets of this Dodge there are many elements of Mercedes, because in its design no one has yet believed in the gap between the giants. Chrysler and Daimler.

The German roots are most evident in the chassis - the multi-link rear suspension is very similar to that of the E-Class and gives the Challenger a completely trouble-free ride. The car's reactions are predictable and manageable, and the unforeseen consequences of a huge herd of horses under the hood are promptly restrained by the ESP system. However, the engineers did not fail to give the necessary space for freedom on the driver's side - after all, hardly anyone wants to drive a Muscle Car whose ass never spontaneously wants to overtake the front ...

Domestication

A decisive injection of technological competence, sent from Stuttgart to Detroit, produces equally impressive results in driving comfort.

At low speeds, the giant rollers still cause even more nasty impacts, but as speed increases, manners become more and more good - even on poorly maintained roads, the ride is so harmonious that the Challenger is able to destroy a whole bunch of prejudices. to American cars. Complementing this positive picture are the measurements from auto motor und sport, which clearly show that, despite a payload of 500 kilograms, the braking system's performance does not decrease under thermal stress. But the bulky trunk speaks of good suitability for long trips (which, however, can hardly be said about the rather immodest fuel consumption and low mileage without recharging).

Wild and unbridled, the prototype has evolved into an iconic sports coupe with character: the American-style Mercedes CLK, so to speak. However, that doesn't change the fact that Kowalski will definitely like him. Moreover, the new version of the Challenger will likely complete the race from Denver to San Francisco in less than 15 hours ...

text: Getz Layrer

a photo: Ahim Hartman

technical details

Dodge Challenger SRT8
Working volume	-
Power	425 k. From. at 6200 rpm
Maximum torque	-
Acceleration 0-100 km / h	5,5 with
Braking distances at a speed of 100 km / h	40 m
full speed	250 km / h
Average consumption fuel in the test	17,1 l
Base Price	53 900 euro