To say that the 2008-present Challenger has been a hit among muscle car enthusiasts young and old is like calling Mardi Gras a fun little get-together in the French Quarter.
The modern reinterpretation of the original Challenger was clearly the right car at the right time, blending nostalgic looks with a sophisticated chassis and gutsy, modern powertrains that hit all the right muscle-car notes. Fans of Dodge’s chunky but striking-looking coupe spoke with their wallets and bought more than 700,000 in the U.S. alone from 2008-’22. Worldwide, the number surpassed 730,000 — with the lion’s share of those sold to our muscle-car-loving neighbors to the north.
Dodge definitely capitalized on the Challenger’s popularity by offering a dizzying array of submodels, special editions, special colors, etc. Many of those harkened back to the old days but some new legends were born, too (we’re looking at you, Hellcat). Along those lines, and for the sake of your author’s sanity, this buyer’s guide will focus on the Challenger R/T models from 2009-’14 — cars built prior to the 2015 makeover and the introduction of the aforementioned Hellcat. This, of course, leaves the door open to explore the SRT8s, the SE, the Hellcat, the Demon, and others in future editions. Anecdotally, just judging from the number of late-model Challengers that show up at our Musclepalooza events, and at our summer Cruise-Ins, there will be
