It’s been a long road for two of America’s favorite muscle cars currently in production, the Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger. Both are headed toward the end of their respective life cycles. Will there be a replacement for these two rear-wheel-drive monsters? Or, to be more specific, will there be a new Charger and Challenger coming in 2023? As a long-time fan of Dodge and all things “MOPAR”, (Chrysler Motor Parts), I sure hope the powers that be at FCA, (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) have a couple of viable replacements for these beloved pavement pounders.

The rumors (and denials from FCA) started flying furiously just the other day when FCA released some promo shots featuring the refreshed 2020 Dodge Charger and Challenger. The Dodge marketing folks love to hide Easter eggs (hidden clues) in their ads, (remember the run-up to the Dodge Demon?).  So, lo-and-behold, an “egg” was found in a photo showing the instrument cluster of one of the new cars. Just visible at the bottom of the image, was “2,023 mi.” on the odometer. Why would a brand new model already have 2,023 miles on it, was it a Dodge test mule? Or was it a glorious clue as to the model year release of the next-gen Charger & Challenger? So far, Dodge has denied any rumors surrounding the mysterious “2023” seen in the photo but come-on, based on past history, do you really believe that?

Let’s back-up the Goodyear’s for just a minute. Why is the launch date for a next generation Dodge Charger and Challenger such a big deal, you may ask? Well, for starters, these cars are a dying breed. They hail from a time when gas was relatively cheap and American iron and muscle ruled the streets, the drag strips, and the drive-in. FYI – “drive-ins” were outdoor movie theaters popular in the United States during the 1950s and ’60s where you would “drive-in” to watch a movie and well…I digress.

The Charger nameplate actually dates back to 1965, but the car, (a two-door coupe back in the day) really didn’t take hold with the motoring public until the popular second generation car debuted for model year 1968. The new design featured a “flying buttress” rear roof and window treatment along with signature hide-away headlights, and full-width front grill. The ’68 through ’70 Dodge Charger became an icon, co-starring with Steve McQueen in the seminal car chase movie “Bullitt” and a decade later, jumping ponds and hay bales around Hazzard County, Georgia.

The Dodge Challenger, by contrast is just a baby, having been delivered in 1970 at the peak of the “pony car” and muscle car craze. The original Challenger was aptly named, as the car was intended to be MOPAR’s “Challenger” to the phenomenally popular Ford Mustang, (in production since 1964), and Chevy’s Camaro, (debuting in the Fall of 1966 as a ’67 model).  However, just one year into the Challenger’s five-year production run, much of the fun and purpose for buying a Challenger started to erode thanks to government regulations, rising fuel costs, and insurance companies who weren’t thrilled about American “twenty-somethings” getting their hands on 300 plus horsepower missiles with puny brakes. 1974 was the final model year for the original Challenger.

Along with the Challenger’s production death after the 1974 model year, the Dodge Charger met a similar fate. The final “sporty & muscular” Charger also bowed-out the same model year although Dodge tried to pump new life into the car’s name by slapping it on a new “personal luxury coupe.” The upscale car, debuting for 1975, was the final generation of rear-wheel drive Charger and featured a fancy hood ornament and an opera window for each back seat passenger.  Later, a small front-wheel-drive Dodge Omni inspired hatchback would become the new Charger in 1981.  Six years later, Dodge finally shelved the storied “Charger” nameplate for good, or so we thought?

Thankfully for real muscle car fans like myself, Dodge resurrected the Charger as a rear-wheel drive car again for a sixth generation in 2005 but this time, the coupe was gone and in its place, was a four-door sedan.  Early versions of the car really didn’t have much “Charger” in them when it came to looks, but the new car did offer an optional Hemi-powered V8 under the hood as part of the performance oriented R/T (Road/Track) package.  A couple of major face-lifts later has brought us to the current Charger line that absolutely oozes classic Sixties muscle car styling cues.  Not to be left out, Challenger returned four years after the Charger revival as an even more retro-inspired version of the original 1970 car. Both modern versions ride on a modified Mercedes-Benz E-Class platform that dates back to the ill-fated Daimler-Chrysler marriage of the late 1990s. It’s a great foundation for both cars, but in automotive technology terms, it –  is  – ancient.

So after  fourteen (Charger) and ten (Challenger) calendar years of production, it is past time for a replacement, right? But where should they go from here? The rumors first started around 2016 when our own Zero To 60 blog reported that a next generation Charger would arrive by 2019. The design was said to look something like a concept Charger shown to the public back in 1999, feature a twin-turbo four-cylinder, and possibly be based on an Alfa Romeo sedan platform.  The Alfa Romeo part of the story has since been de-bunked by FCA and as far as power-plants go, there’s been nothing definitive. But what about that 2023 clue from the picture that Dodge now denies as a “clue?”

Regardless of whether these two modern muscle cars reemerge with all-new sheetmetal in 2023 or some other date, it is a pretty good bet that Dodge will find a way to continue both.  The Challenger beat-out both the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro, its main competition, in third-quarter sales this year for the first time ever. The current Charger is also a champ for Dodge as the best selling, full-size 4-door sedan in America so far this model year.

Whatever or whenever Dodge plans to roll-out a new Charger and Challenger combo, let’s just hope they both offer rear-wheel drive, plenty of tire-smokin’, engine-bellowing grunt, and loads of styling bits that move us forward but also take us back to the glory days when muscle cars ruled the earth.

Written by Mark Arsen for LeithCars.com.

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