Challenger to Celebrate 50 Years of Badassery in L.A.
Dodge’s 50-car display of greatest hits set to roll into AutoMobility L.A., Nov. 20.
Fifty years ago, a new challenger entered the pony car wars, ready to yank all the feathers off the Firebird, turn the Mustang to glue, and slap both upon the Camaro before setting it ablaze in a cloud of tire smoke. That car was, of course, the Dodge Challenger, which rode upon the all-new E-body platform also underpinning the Plymouth Barracuda and ‘Cuda.
Alas, its time in the limelight was brief, cut short by all the things that brought the muscle car era to an end, and the personal luxury era to its peak. Aside from a rear-drive Mitsubishi coupe wearing the name around the late Seventies and early Eighties, it wouldn’t be until the late 2000s that the Challenger we know and love now would bow. And now, we get to celebrate its golden anniversary at AutoMobility L.A. Motoring Invitational in Los Angeles on November 20.
During the third day of the AutoMobility LA Motoring Invitational, which is the lead-up to the public opening of the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show, the auto press will get to check out not one, not two, but 50 Challengers from the Seventies through to the New ’10s. A few of those cars include the 1970 Challenger T/A, the 2008 Challenger concept, and an SRT 392 owned by Los Angeles Rams outside linebacker Samson Ebukam.
All 50 of the Challengers will be displayed at the Dodge Challenger 50th Anniversary showcase in the Los Angeles Convention Center’s Technology Pavilion, with a special presentation scheduled for November 20 from 7 to 8:30 a.m.
The Challenger has come a long way over the past five decades. It’s seen six presidencies, gained, lost, and regained the Hemi, and kept its rear-drive, two-door configuration through it all. Whatever the New ’20s have to bring to the table, we can only imagine what Dodge’s badass pony car will be.
Photos: FCA North America
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