2006 Dodge Challenger Concept: The Dawn of Modern Mopar Muscle
Challenger Concept introduced the lines and the 6.1-liter Hemi of the highly-popular 2008 production SRT8.
The modern Dodge Challenger has become one of the leaders in the current era of American performance while also being the most powerful Mopar muscle car of all time. With an engine lineup that offers variants of the Hemi with 485, 717 and 797 horsepower, Dodge has once again become the leader in American muscle, but it all started with one car. The fifth installation in DodgeForum’s “Concept Spotlight Series” takes a closer look at the original rear-drive LX Dodge Challenger Concept from 2006.
The 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit’s Cobo Hall played host to the introduction of the 2006 Dodge Challenger Concept. It was this car that generated so much interest and enthusiasm at the Detroit show more than 12 years ago. It introduced the world to a modern Challenger that’s proven to be popular. So popular in fact, that Dodge hasn’t really changed the design much since 2006. It also introduced us all to the groundbreaking 6.1-liter, 425-horsepower Hemi.
The 2006 Dodge Challenger Concept spent a few years on the car show scene and at a media event in 2014, FCA showed off the original modern Mopar muscle car alongside an array of other unforgettable concept cars. The image above shows the Challenger Concept at that 2014 event and the images below show the car from a show at the Walter P. Chrysler museum in 2008.
Concept Design
As you can see in the images here, the 2006 Dodge Challenger Concept looked a great deal like the production car that hit the market for the 2008 model year. The crosshair grille from the concept didn’t make it to production, nor did the functional air vent flaps in the hood or the LED-trimmed headlights. The basic headlight design of the production car was similar, but the “six shooter” design from the inner ring did not make it to showrooms, nor did the unique wheels of the concept car.
However, pretty much everything else from the exterior of the 2006 concept made it to the 2008 SRT8 production model and while the car was refreshed for the 2015 model year, the basic exterior design remains the same.
425 Horsepower Hemi
Under the hood of the 2006 Dodge Challenger Concept is a 6.1-liter Hemi with 425 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque. This is, of course, the engine that would power the 2008 SRT8 production car and like the production car, the concept came with a 6-speed manual gearbox. This drivetrain afforded the concept the ability to dash from a stop to 60 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds while covering the quarter mile in 13 seconds flat and hitting a top speed of 174 miles per hour.
That engine was fed by the function hood with flaps that could be opened and closed by the driver, with the air being channeled from those scoops to the induction setup at the front of the hood.
Familiar Interior
Finally, the 2006 Dodge Challenger Concept had an interior layout that was very similar to the production 2008 SRT8. The seats, shift console and dash board were the same basic shape in both cars, with the gauge cluster being the key interior difference.
As you can see in the image below, the concept had a unique telemetry gauge in the cluster that displayed 0-60 time, quarter mile time, quarter mile speed and the engine speed at each shift during the run. This did not make it to production, but a few years later, the SRT models would get a similar timing system that is still in use today.
In passing, the 2006 Dodge Challenger Concept might look like a production car from the 2008-2014 era, but this car is one of the most important concept cars in the modern era of Dodge and Mopar performance.
Check out the next edition of ‘Concept Spotlight’ next week, only on Dodge Forum!
