These two models share timeless styling that hasn’t changed, and hopefully never does
The Dodge Challenger is one of the most iconic American muscle cars of all time. There is a high level of love in the car community for this quintessential US car. But how many of these Challenger lovers would be willing to see the iconic car redesigned? That’s what we’re going to be discussing today.
Few cars possess a style that can hold up over a single decade, let alone multiple decades. One of those cars is the Porsche 911. The 911 has certainly evolved since its introduction in 1963, but the sports car’s basic profile and proportions remain unchanged after more than 50 years. I’d argue that at this point Porsche can’t change the 911 without risking a massive revolt from the car’s dedicated fanbase.
The Porsche 911’s basic shape and proportions have aged gracefully
I’d make the same argument about the Dodge Challenger. Unlike the Porsche 911, the Dodge Challenger doesn’t have 5 decades of uninterrupted production. Dodge’s muscle car was only in production for 5 years before it vanished for 35 years (and no, the Mitsubishi “Challenger” from the 1980s doesn’t count…).
This Dodge Challenger Concept Car previewed the production model’s classic proportions
Yet Dodge was smart enough to bring its iconic Challenger back in 2008 with the exact same style and proportions the original offered. The Challenger has been a growing sales success, passing the Chevrolet Camaro years ago and now rivaling Ford’s original Pony Car for the U.S. sports coupe sales lead.
The Dodge Challenger’s classic design looks particularly good in classic colors
But this puts a lot of pressure on Dodge regarding the Challenger’s imminent redesign. The car will soon switch platforms, going from the Mercedes-Benz-based LX platform to an Alfa Romeo-based platform. Having a more advanced (and lighter!) chassis will be a welcome change, but those classic Dodge Challenger proportions better not get lost in the process…