New Breed of Challengers to Include the Legendary ‘Cuda?’
Mopar Insiders’ report suggests the next-gen Challenger is looming on the horizon, and you might be calling the convertible version a ‘Cuda.’
Just when it seems like the Challenger has taken its checkered flag, FCA comes out with some sort of new outrageously powerful model. But, out of all the variations, they never made a convertible. With the next generation of Challenger though, that’s likely to change. After all, the Challenger’s pony car rivals from GM and Ford both offer open top versions. But according to a report from Mopar Insiders, there’s rumors that a new Challenger convertible would be called the Cuda.
For a quick history lesson, the Cuda was the Plymouth sister car to the Dodge Challenger. Dodge wouldn’t make a ‘Cuda on its own as it would make a sports coupe double redundant. But calling the open top version a ‘Cuda makes sense. The report from Mopar Insiders indicates this could be a possibility based on a dealer convention meeting 2015 where FCA touted an open top version of the Challenger dubbed “Barracuda.” But, it never came to be. And with Plymouth now being defunct, a ‘Cuda can’t be its own model, but can be a trim level.
Now that we are more than a decade into the current Challenger platform, the arrival of an open top would be welcomed, and the ‘Cuda name wouldn’t upset purists. But we do have to wonder, how does FCA raise the bar with the next Challenger?
Likely it’ll be a shared FCA platform which has us thinking it’ll be based on an Alfa Romeo. As we already know, the Giulia platform is capable of a 500 horsepower measure, so the platform is strong enough for a supercharged behemoth of a V8. But a Challenger the Giulia is not and there lies a conundrum. The replacement is going to have to be more svelte, and far less bulky because the Challenger as we know it won’t be able to be produced for much longer. Aggressive styling is likely, but we’re also ready for the Challenger to mature into a well-rounded car.
We have confidence in FCA to retain the tire smoking hooliganism in the Challenger regardless of which platform is it on next. Will we have 700 horsepower in a convertible? If anyone can do it, Dodge can.
Photos: Mopar Insiders
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