Dodge Challenger to be almost exactly like concept

Chrysler has confirmed that the Dodge Challenger that hits the roads in 2008 will be almost exactly like the concept car unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in January this year. According to Tom Tremont, Chrysler's vice president and top designer, "You're not going to be able to tell the difference."

"There's so much passion surrounding this car," said Alan Barrington, the interior designer. "We knew if we screwed this up, we would lose a lot of fans."

The concept was based on the Chrysler LX platform, which is used in the 300C and Dodge Charger models. They’ve also said that the concept was designed to be as close to production capable as possible, in case it was green-lighted.

Though the car will be fitted with a 6.1L Hemi developing 425hp and six speed manual gearbox, news has recently come through that Chrysler may be planning an even more potent 6.6L Hemi to compete against the upcoming Camaro.

This reminds us of the now famous Steve Jobs quote about car companies and concept cars:

“You know how you see a show car, and it’s really cool, and then four years later you see the production car, and it sucks? And you go, What happened? They had it! They had it in the palm of their hands! They grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory!

“What happened was, the designers came up with this really great idea. Then they take it to the engineers, and the engineers go, ‘Nah, we can't do that. That’s impossible.’ And so it gets a lot worse. Then they take it to the manufacturing people, and they go, ‘We can't build that!’ And it gets a lot worse.”

Now that Chrysler has nailed the styling, lets hope they make it drive as good as it looks.

Click more for high res images of the Challenger concept.