In another move to get potential Camaro buyers to look elsewhere, Ford has announced that the 2011 Mustang's MSRP will be starting out below that of its crosstown rival.
What kind of difference can you expect to find in your wallet? How about $535 on the V6 and before regional gouging? That's got to be worth at least an option or two.
Official prices are $22,995 (about €17,200 at today's rates) for the Mustang and $23,530 for the V6 Camaro. With the base GT starting at $30,495 (around €22,800), it appears that the Mustang will be undercutting the Camaro in V8 territory as well (the GT Premium comes in at $33,695).
All prices listed factor in shipping costs, while notable new features on the Mustangs include six-speed automatics and aluminum blocks across the board, the base model's new 3.7 liter V6, and the 5.0 liter V8-equipped GTs.
Now let's see a response from Dodge in the form of a 300+ horsepower V6 in the Challenger (I'm not holding my breath, though).
Dodge is celebrating forty years of muscle car badness in a fruity tropical colorful high-impact way. The latest vehicle in Dodge's blitzkrieg of brightness (see Top Banana, Go ManGo, Detonator Yellow, Sublime Green, Plum Crazy, B5 Blue, Hemi Orange, TorRed) is the Furious Fuchsia package, available on R/T Classic and SRT8 models.
"Commemorating four decades of Challenger performance, the new R/T Classic and SRT8 Furious Fuchsia editions modernize one of the most memorable hues from 1970 to create a modern muscle-car that exudes more performance, passion and even more nostalgia," said Ralph Gilles, President and Chief Executive Officer.
For $35,140 for the R/T Classic with the 372HP 5.7L V8 and $45,150 for the SRT8 with the 425HP 6.2L V8, the Furious Fuchsia Challengers won't offer any additional performance goodies, but what they do come with is that eye-searingly floral hue along with all the standard trim.
The R/T Classic model gets "A-line" side stripes in Bright White (or Matte Black) along with all the other "heritage" bits that usually come with the Classic such as the 20-inch polished-aluminum wheels, egg-crate grille, body-color rear spoiler, functional hood scoop and bright racing style fuel-filler door.
Inside, monotone Dark Slate Gray leather performance seats and center console armrest with Furious Fuchsia accent stitching are standard while Pearl White performance seats accented with Dark Slate Gray and Furious Fuchsia French-seamed stitching are optional.
For buyers who opt for a clutch, the pistol-gripped, 3.92-geared, anti-spin-enhanced Trak Pak comes standard.
At the top of the spectrum, the big-dog Fuchsia SRT8 - limited to 400 units - gets its wheels done up with Satin Black eyeliner, a plaque on the dash, accent stripes on the standard Pearl White leather SRT performance seats, and "retro-inspired chromed quad exhaust tips".
The Furious Fuchsia Challengers will debut at the Chicago Auto Show this week.
The New Year brought new exterior and interior appearance packages from Mopar for Dodge's reborn Challenger muscle car. Available as a factory production option, the exterior kit includes a unique body-color hood with scoop, body-color rear "Go-Wing" spoiler and strobe stripe performance graphics. The exterior package can be yours for $1,995.
For the interior, Mopar's set includes a Mopar-branded T-handle shifter, bright pedal kit (only for automatic models), bright door-sill guards, premium carpet floor mats and a full vehicle cover. Dodge prices the interior package $945 for Challenger's equipped with an automatic transmission and $780 for cars fitted with a manual gearbox.
Both styling packages are available on Challenger SE (3.5-liter V6) and R/T (5.7-liter HEMI V8) models but only with these exterior colors: TorRed, Bright Silver Metallic, Brilliant Black Crystal and Bright White.
A talented modeler named Robert D. came up with the wacky idea of creating a scale-model that combines elements from the latest editions of Detroit's pony cars: the body of a Chevy Camaro, the front end of a Dodge Challenger and the rear-end of the Ford Mustang. And this here is the result.
"I like the main body of the Camaro better than the Challenger. I like the Challenger front end better than the Camaro. Once the idea was in my head to add Mustang to the equation, it all came together, because I found out pretty quickly that the three could combine into one," Robert stated in a forum for model cars.
We don't have to tell those of that you have ever attempted to make a custom model that it's easier said than done. Nevertheless, after four painstaking months of work, Robert pulled it off.
And even if you disagree with the aesthetics or the parts of the three muscle cars that were chosen for the model, you can't but admire the result from a technical point of view.
Now, any ideas what the tri-pony car should be named?
A little over a year ago, we showed you some conceptual designs for a modern day successor to Plymouth's 1971-1975 Road Runner based on today's Dodge Challenger. The concept was penned by Michael Leonhard and featured in the August/September issue of Mopar Enthusiast magazine. Then, it was nothing more than a vision of what the car would look like.
However, Leonhard got in contact with Carscoop to inform us that he has put the design up for auction on eBay with the intent to build a one-off model that if all goes well, will be displayed and delivered to its owner at next year's Los Angeles Auto Show.
Leonhard's proposal, which looks pretty neat in the computer generated images, is essentially a reskinned 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 that takes styling cues from the '71-'72 Plymouth Road Runner.
The designer's plans also include a modified interior with new seat covers, door trims, headliner and rear-quarter trim while maintaining the Challenger's dashboard and console.
Underneath the skin, it is proposed that the one-off 2010 Plymouth Road Runner will get a turbocharged version of the SRT8's 6.1-liter HEMI V8 engine with 620HP and 650 lb-ft of torque for an estimated 0-60mph time of around 3.8 seconds and the quarter mile sprint in 11.9 seconds - all in theory of course.
It all sounds very nice until you read the eBay Motor's 'Buy it Now' price of US $950,000 (for the completed vehicle) combined with the fact that Leonhard has not revealed the name of what is described as, "the world leading and renowned company specializing in coach building and concept car manufacturing" that will handle the build of the car on the auction page.
Not to generalize, but even if we were passionate enough to spend the same amount of money as it would cost us to buy, let's say, a new Lamborghini Murcielago LP640, (around $350,000), a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S ($132,000), a Maserati Quattroporte Sport GTS ($133,700) and still have enough cash left around for half a dozen of 2010 Corvette Grand Sports ($55,000 a piece), for a car that's in essence, a rebodied and modified $44,000 Challenger, we would like to see it in the flesh, let alone know every single detail about its build.
Naturally, those interested, may contact Leonhard for more information directly through his website here.
All the same, since we really like the project, we'd like to wish him the best of luck in his attempt to make the 2010 Plymouth Road Runner Concept a reality.
Back in the late 1960's, Dodge developed the Charger Daytona race car to compete in NASCAR but to comply with the rules, they also had to build at least 500 copies to sell to the public and thus was born the Charger Daytona, the most outrageous musclecar of the time. Taking a step back into the good old days, the guys over at Heide Performance Products created the modern day successor to the road-legal racer with the Dodge Challenger-based Daytona concept that was shown at this week's SEMA.
The concept model gets all the design features that made the original Daytona look special such as the 'mile-high' rear wing, the elongated front nose piece, the hood scoops and the front fender trims.
Other highlight of the Dodge Challenger Daytona include the Vortech supercharged 5.7-liter V8 engine that should be good for around 600 horsepower or more, the KW Automotive sport suspension and the Magnaflow sport exhaust system.
