May Dodge’s Seventh Last Name Automobile Be A Challenger Six-Pack?

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Dodge desires to ship the Challenger and its V8 engines off in model with a still-secret closing “Final Name” mannequin that sounds prefer it might be essentially the most highly effective manufacturing facility V8 Chrysler muscle automotive ever produced.

CEO Tim Kuniskis has already admitted that the mannequin’s deliberate SEMA debut was scrapped as a result of seven of the tuned supercharged Hellcat engines blew up throughout improvement when engineers tried to use robust sturdiness procedures to a motor that would ship as a lot as 909 hp (922 PS) on E85 gas.

We all know that the seventh Last Name machine will commemorate a muscle automotive from the previous, however which one? Dodge has already wheeled out so a lot of its basic muscle badges over the past 15-20 years, utilizing the R/T title for normal efficiency vehicles, and calling others Scat Pack after the collective time period used for Dodge’s muscle portfolio within the late Sixties, and Shaker in honor of a cool air cleaner that when poked via Challenger hoods.

We’ve additionally had a Dodge Challenger Demon, a Tremendous Inventory, 500 and T/A lately, all of which reference vehicles from muscle’s first golden age, and among the many six already-announced Final Name vehicles are extra old-school references like Swinger, Tremendous Bee, Black Ghost and King Daytona.

Associated: 2023 Dodge Charger And Challenger Orders Open, Right here’s How To Get One Of The Final ICE-Powered Fashions

We’d say that final title’s presence on a 300-unit run of particular 807 hp (818 PS) Chargers in all probability guidelines out Dodge making use of the Daytona title to the Challenger, regardless of the 1969 Charger Daytona being Dodge’s most outrageous previous muscle basic and its loopy wings and nostril cone giving Dodge’s modern-day designers an opportunity to do one thing wild with the styling and aero on a brand new one.

Dodge muscle geeks may in all probability wheel out a dozen classic half names or specification codes that the corporate would possibly flip to as an alternative, together with “A12”, which signified an uprated model of the 440-cu-in V8, a lift-off, scooped fiberglass hood and Dana 60 again axle with steep 4:10 gears on the 1969 1/2 Coronet Tremendous Bee. I feel that A12 title might be too rare-groove and never evocative sufficient for a non-hardcore viewers, however I additionally suppose that one merchandise inside that A12 package deal is perhaps the reply we’re searching for.

I’m speaking in regards to the “Six-Pack” carburetor equipment that consisted of three Holley two-barrel carbs and was additionally out there on different Chrysler muscle vehicles, together with the Tremendous Bee’s reverse quantity from Plymouth, the Highway Runner, the Plymouth Cuda, and naturally, the Dodge Challenger on each the 5.6-liter, 340-powered 1970 T/A and the 1970-71 7.2-liter 440.

Associated: Dodge Unveils First Of Seven ‘Final Name’ Particular Editions, The 2023 Challenger Shakedown

That is purely a private hunch, however give it some thought: the Six-Pack title is so well-known by Chrysler muscle followers that it appears virtually weird that it’s by no means been used because it was retired on the tail finish of 1971. And there’s another excuse why Dodge would possibly select to make use of it. The Six-Pack title has acquired unfinished enterprise.

Technically, the unique 440 Six-Pack was at all times a rung down the ladder from the 7.0-liter, 426 Hemi, regardless of packing extra carb throats and an additional 200 cc of displacement. The six-pack 440 pushed out the identical 490 lb-ft (664 Nm) because the Hemi (and at 3,200 rpm as an alternative of 4,000 rpm), however when it got here to energy, it couldn’t fairly crack into the fours, being rated at 390 hp (395 PS) to the Hemi’s 425 hp (431 PS), although we should always at all times take these previous energy figures with an ocean’s value of salt.

However Chrysler, and particularly its engineer Tom Hoover, often known as the daddy of the 426 road Hemi, was apparently engaged on including six-pack carburation to the Hemi to provide it much more energy and assist it keep its edge in NASCAR. We perceive the triple-carb Hemi was initially slated to enter manufacturing in late 1971 for the 1972 yr, however with NASCAR adopting a 5.0-liter restrict, and emissions and insurances pressures strangling the muscle automotive market, Chrysler made the choice in Could 1970 to kill the Hemi off altogether, and no vehicles had been out there with the 426 after 1971.

So naming the final ever Dodge efficiency V8 “Six-Pack” in honor of what would have been essentially the most highly effective unique Hemi ever has a pleasant finality to it. And perhaps Dodge’s design workforce may give you a loopy six-pipe exhaust system to make a visible connection to the title.

Or perhaps I’m fully barking up the unsuitable tree and it’s going to be known as one thing else, like Viper. However you’ve acquired to confess, it makes plenty of sense. What basic muscle automotive from Dodge’s again catalog would you wish to see the seventh Last Name automotive take inspiration from? Go away a remark and tell us.

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