 |
 |
Fast, easy and convenient! Just a few minutes! That is all it takes to get pre-approved.
|
|
 |
 |
Chris Leith Dodge Ram
10936 Star Road,
Wake Forest - Raleigh NC 27587
Call Sales: (919) 556-3137
Toll Free: (888) 435-9618
Parts: 888.558.1124
Service: 888.903.3046
|
|
 |
|
|
|
2009 Dodge Challenger R/T |
| |
|
Article Date: Wed, November 19, 2008
|
|
'09 Dodge Challenger R/T
 |
| The 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T was born to run, so you'll have to keep an eye on it. | T.Q. Jones 19.NOV.08
Okay, so the new 2009 Dodge Challenger SE we tested a few weeks ago was a sheep in wolf's clothing, its bright red paint job attracting onlookers who all wanted to know just one thing: "Is it a HEMI?"
Well, no, it wasn't. It was just a mild 3.5-liter (215 cubic inch) V6 that put out a modest 250 horsepower, or more horsepower than any of the Challenger V8s could manage in 1972. Excuse me? Yep, the top of the line 340 cubic inch V8 in 1972 could only manage 240 hp.
Of course, at the time the auto makers were dealing with changes in both fuel (it was the first year for unleaded gasoline) and with a different set of rules for measuring horsepower that had gone into effect with the 1971 model year and cost everyone 20-30 percent of their previous horsepower ratings as the power was now rated as the engine was installed in the car, not on how much power it could put out on a test stand in a laboratory.
They didn't lose that horsepower, naturally; they just changed the measuring criteria. But if you were impressed by pure horsepower numbers, you might have shed a tear over the fact that you could no longer boast about how much power your car had compared to last year.
On the other hand, fast-forward to 2008 and the introduction of the new 2009 Dodge Challenger and you might begin to smile again, particularly if you happen to get your hands on one of the new R/T models or the seriously romping SRT8 option. Why? Because these new rockets are directly comparable on horsepower to the models sold in 1972, using the same measuring system for horsepower, running on unleaded fuel, and available with neat things like a six-speed manual transmission.
We already noted the fuel-injected 3.5-liter V6 has more horsepower than the 340 cubic inch V8 sold in 1972, and the trend continues with the 5.7-liter (345 cubic inch) HEMI used in the R/T model in 2009, which cranks out 372 hp. The top-of-the-line monster SRT8 gets an exclusive 6.1-liter (370 cubic inch) HEMI and 425 hp. Did we really call those mid-'70s cars "muscle cars?"
Naturally, Dodge raced the original Challengers, as the Sports Car Club of America's (SCCA) Trans-Am series was the chosen place to "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" for the "pony cars." Sam Posey drove the lone Challenger raced in 1070 and didn't win a race, but did finish fourth in the championship.
Since they still race on some of the same tracks they used in 1970, it would be interesting to see what kind of lap times a box-stock 2009 Challenger R/T would turn compared to what the race cars could do in 1970. (The SCCA runs a Showroom Stock class for Mustangs, Camaros and the like, and those cars, with no performance modifications and running on regular street tires, have surpassed many of the old Trans-Am race laps.)
Our test car was a nice, unobtrusive and innocuous-appearing silver model with no stripes and only a discreet "R/T" badge on the grille and equally-discreet "HEMI" badging on the hood, but it had all the goodies underneath, including the newest trick to get good economy in a fast car, a six-speed manual transmission.
At $32,180, the R/T was about six grand higher than the SE we tested and carried equally as much performance and comfort equipment, plus a few more goodies aside from the HEMI engine. Performance steering (tilt and telescope, natch), performance suspension (and boy, is it ever), limited slip differential, anti-lock brakes, a lower (3.73 to one) rear axle ratio and a Sirius satellite radio so you can listen to the appropriate music from the '50s, '60s and '70s.
If you go for the top of the line SRT8, be prepared to pay more for fuel, but if you stay with either the SE or R/T model (our choice), Dodge recommends mid-grade unleaded fuel, but allows that it will run very well on 87 octane unleaded. With the six-speed, the R/T is EPA-rated at 16 miles per gallon city and 25 mpg highway. We did a little better than 16 in city driving and, as the engine is only turning about 1500 rpm on the highway at 70 mph, 25 mpg on a real highway run may be conservative.
Be forewarned, however: the 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T was born to run, so you'll have to keep an eye on it. |
|
|
Bookmark
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a friend
Mobile Site
