Every Dodge Sports Car You Should Know
From Challengers to Chargers, here are some Dodge sports cars on the market today and the history behind them.
Powered by the famous HEMI V8 engine,
Dodge
sports cars have set the stage (and the style) for speed since the Charger
was introduced in 1966. Today, Dodge still brands mega-speed with SRT trims of the Challenger
and Charger, like the Hellcat Redeye
and Super Stock, and plans to introduce an all-electric performance car by 2024. From its inception, Dodge Motor Company has produced a revolutionary selection of vehicles—from the powerhouse
RAM pickup truck
to the now discontinued Grand Caravan
minivan. But at its core, Dodge is arguably best known for its iconic sports vehicles, including the Viper, Challenger, and Charger. To help acquaint you with Dodge’s sports car lineup,
Jerry
, the super app
for cars and car insurance
, has put together a guide. Here we’ll go through Dodge’s most famous sports vehicles as well as some of the history behind them. Does Dodge make sports cars?
Yes! Many, in fact—and If you’re looking for a Dodge sports car, chances are you’ll come across the classic Charger and Challenger. But the recently discontinued Dodge Viper is similarly well-known amongst sports car enthusiasts—especially for its recognizable styling and rocket acceleration.
Interested in the detailed specs? Let’s take a look.
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2017 Dodge Viper SRT
Equipped with an enormous 8.4 L V10 engine, the 2017 Dodge Viper is capable of up to 645-hp and a 0 to 60 mph acceleration time of just three seconds.
Debuting in 1992, the Viper revived Dodge’s muscle car spirit after a twenty-year hiatus. Built with thrilling driving in mind, its final 2017 model doesn’t hold back either. While the Viper’s massive engine can be incredibly noisy and uncivil in its handling, its intense and outrageously powerful performance gives the Viper a unique appeal. Upgrading to the ACR trim amplifies the race-car experience with better traction and aerodynamics, but the ride remains raw and bold nonetheless.
That said, if the Viper is famous for anything it’s not for its comfortable ride. But this comes as no surprise to Viper fanatics who are used to frying their legs on the Viper’s exhaust-heated door sills while leaving the tiny cabin. For a more luxurious and spacious interior, the
Chevrolet Corvette Z06
is a better option as well as the slower Ford Mustang GT350
. At $81,390 and $57,045 respectively, both the Chevy and the Ford are cheaper than the Viper’s steep $93,000 starting price. It’s this higher cost that led to lower sales, which ended in the Viper’s discontinuation. But sports car drivers today still laud this vehicle as one of the most intense and, at times, terrifying speed demons out there.
2022 Dodge Challenger
One of the original muscle cars of Dodge’s early sports car era, the Challenger was resurrected in 2008 following the success of the Viper. Today, it remains a more savage performer than its Charger sedan cousin, at the cost of a little leg room.
At an amped-up trim—like the
SRT Hellcat
—the Challenger takes off with a 717-hp supercharged 6.2 L V8 engine. Miraculously, this already ludicrous power can be further increased by upgrading to the SRT Hellcat Redeye
, featuring 797-hp, or the SRT Super Stock with 807-hp. To put this in context, the Super Stock hits 0 to 60 in a stomach-splitting 3.3 seconds. Of course, the base
SXT Challenger
is no sleepy vehicle either. Equipped with the Challenger’s smallest 3.6 L V6 engine, the SXT holds 303-hp under the hood and 268 lb-ft of torque. And this is the lowest the Challenger’s engine strength goes. While eight-speed automatic transmission comes standard in most trims, there are options to switch over to a six-speed manual starting with the
R/T trim
. Generally, the more upgraded the Challenger trim, the more drag racing elements are included—like a Line Lock tire-warming system in the R/T Scat Pack
, competition suspension in the SRT Hellcat, and Nitto street-legal drag racing tires in the SRT Super Stock. Starting at $66,825 for the SRT Hellcat, and just $32,025 for the SXT, the Challenger is much more financially accessible than the Viper was. But while this big, heavy muscle car is a joy to zip away in, Dodge has rumored that 2023 may be the last year for the gas-guzzling Hellcat in favor of a more eco-conscious, all-electric Challenger by 2024.
2022 Dodge Charger
Nearly identical to the Challenger in powertrain, features, tech, and fuel economy, the iconic Dodge Charger sedan features four doors instead of two.
Though the differences between the Challenger and the Charger mostly boil down to this discrepancy in doors, the Charger also has slightly more leg room and cargo space. In the 2022 model, this amounts to 16.5 cubic feet of cargo volume versus the Challenger’s 16.2 cubic feet. The Charger also received higher safety scores from the NHTSA, but this is mainly because you can’t equip a manually transmitting Challenger with collision mitigation.
At any rate, the Charger, like the Challenger, is a beast of a contender in the sports car arena—with a standard 292-hp V6 engine that can be amped up to the Hellcat Redeye’s supercharged 797-hp V8 with 707 lb-ft of torque. With the Jailbreak package, this bumps that horsepower up to 807-hp.
Note: while the Challenger equips the Super Stock trim with the amped-up 807-hp V8, the Charger only includes this as a package add-on for the Hellcat Widebody Redeye. Unlike the Challenger, it does not have that top-tier drag racing Super Stock trim.
A history of the Dodge sports car
Here are just a few of the key moments in Dodge sports car history.
1951: Dodge first introduces its V8 Red Ram HEMI engine, designed as a smaller version of the race-ready Chrysler HEMI. Evolutions of this engine will outfit Dodge’s sports cars moving forward.
1966: Though the first concept of the Charger was introduced in 1946, the first-generation Charger didn’t hit the road until 1966. The goal was to create an upsized pony car that could also compete with other luxury coupes like the Oldsmobile Toronado and the Ford Thunderbird.
1969: Demand for longer and more powerful cars led Dodge to introduce the Challenger in the fall of 1969. There were two engine options available at the time: a 145-hp Inline-6 or a 390-hp V8. Also this year, Dodge’s “Charger Daytona” entered NASCAR’s first-ever Talladega 500 and won—its huge rear-wing aerodynamic design becoming a trademark for the new Charger 500 street model.
1970s: Following the 1973 oil crisis, Dodge/Chrysler is pushed to redesign its gas-guzzling vehicles. Unfortunately, with Charger sales plummeting due to the vehicle’s lack of fuel efficiency, the model goes out of production at the end of 1978. In 1979, Dodge/Chrysler files for a federal loan to save itself from going bankrupt. That same year, they release a redesigned Challenger that ultimately lacks the power of previous models, but proves popular nonetheless.
1983: Dodge abandons the Challenger to focus on the Conquest and Daytona instead.
1992: Equipped with a massive 8.0 L V10 from a Ram truck, the ultra powerful (and slightly terrifying) Dodge Viper is introduced, reinvigorating Dodge’s muscle car roots.
2006-2008: Dodge resurrects the Charger, then the Challenger after the popular reception of the Viper.
2015: The first Challenger Hellcat trim is made widely available, giving a significant edge to Dodge’s sports car name.
How to save money on Dodge insurance
Whether you choose to purchase one of Dodge’s rocket-powered sports cars or stick with something tamer, you’ll want to protect your investment with quality car insurance. Though researching affordable policies may seem slow and tedious—especially for those itching for speed—
Jerry
can make the process quick and easy! The app is free to use and instantly compares custom quotes from over 55 top insurance companies to track down the lowest rates available for you and your coverage needs. See a plan you like? All you have to do is select it through the app and Jerry’s expert brokers will help handle all the transition calls and paperwork.
The average Jerry user ends up saving more than $800 a year on car insurance, so it’s definitely worth a look to keep you (and your zippy Dodge sports car) protected for less!
“As a young person who owns a sports car and a high-end sedan, I couldn’t find quotes below a certain threshold. By usingJerry, I managed to find full comprehensive coverage on both vehicles and saved $150 a month!” —Channing Y.
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