Dodge Challenger

The first Dodge Challenger was the division’s late entrant to the pony car market segment in the United States, launched for the 1970 model year. Intended as a competitor to the Mercury Cougar, it was based on the similar Plymouth Barracuda’s new E-body. The wheelbase, at 110 inches (2,794 mm), was two inches longer and it had substantially different outer sheetmetal than its Plymouth cousin, much in the same way that the Cougar was related to the Ford Mustang. Exterior design was done by Carl Cameron, who also did the exterior for the 1966 Dodge Charger. For the 1970 Challenger grille, Cameron based it off an older sketch of his 1966 Charger prototype that was to have a turbine engine. The Dodge Charger never got the turbine, but the Challenger got that car’s grille. Although the Challenger was well-received by the public (with 80,000 sales in 1970 alone), it was criticized by the press, and the pony car segment was already declining by the time the Challenger arrived. Sales fell dramatically after 1970, and Challenger production ceased midway through the 1974 model year. About 165,500 Challengers were sold over this model’s lifespan. Four models were offered: Challenger Six, Challenger V8,T/A Challenger, and Dodge Challenger R/T. Challengers could either be hardtops, coupes, or convertibles (through 1971 only). The standard engine on the base model was the 225 cu in (3.7 L) six-cylinder. Standard engine on the V8 was the 230 horsepower (170 kW) 318 cu in (5.2 L) V8 with a 2-barrel carburetor. Optional engines were the 340 cu in (5.6 L) and 383 cu in (6.3 L) V8s, all with a standard 3-speed manual transmission, except for the 290 horsepower (220 kW) 383 in³ engine, which was available only with the TorqueFlite automatic transmission. The 4-speed manual was optional on all engines except the 225 in³ I6 and the 383 in³ V8.