Juicy Orange
It’s ironic that the Dodge Challenger is a favourite with Mopar fans today, as that certainly wasn’t the case when it was new.
Debuting as a 1970 model, the Challenger was a late entry into the ‘pony car’ market started by Ford’s Mustang. It lasted five years in its original form, suffered the indignity of having its nameplate applied to Japanese imports in the 1980s, then lay dormant for more than two decades before being revived, first as a concept, then an all-American production model in 2008.
The modern Challenger is a bolder and arguably better take on the original in both its styling and drivetrain, but there’s always room to make an original Challenger bolder and better, too – as shown in the car featured.
DELAYED START
When it debuted in 1964, the Mustang’s success caught everyone by surprise and all other US manufacturers scrambled to create a rival. All, it seems, except Dodge.
Chevrolet had their Camaro ready to go in late 1966, followed by the Pontiac Firebird a few months later. Mercury offered a luxe version of the Mustang with their Cougar for 1967, while American Motors released their Javelin later in the same year.
Plymouth, with their Valiant-based Barracuda, had actually beaten Ford to market with the ‘pony car’
