We thought we'd never see the day the word "Hemi" would appear on the flanks of a new production vehicle. When it did, it not only appeared on a car, but on a sophisticated fully-independent chassis with rear-wheel drive. We were, to say the least, blown over by the technical tour-de-force presented by the pair of cars, known as the Chrysler 300C and the Dodge Magnum. (For a technical overview of the new 5.7L Hemi, check out "Hello Hemi!" in the March 2004 issue of PHR.)
The components making up these LX platform mates-the new Hemi powerplant, the slick and seamless 5-speed automatic overdrive transmission (built in the new Kokomo, IN plant), the state-of-the-art suspension and classic proportions-by themselves represent great strides forward for Daimler Chrysler (DCX), but as an integrated whole represent a sea change in the way performance cars are now built.
Last fall, PHR had the opportunity to examine both the 300C and the Dodge Magnum SRT-8 up close. Once the initial shock of the Hemi twins wore off, we started asking questions about the possibility of a coupe variant-especially on Dodge's dance card. The idea of designing the Hemi engine, building a new 5-speed overdrive automatic trans, and engineering an all independent rear-wheel drive platform to stuff it into, then endowing the finished product with station wagon styling didn't make sense to us. It's like running the Daytona 500, being in first place on the last lap, and then coming in for a pit stop before the checkered flag. It's like Cindy Crawford wearing a burlap sack.
Memories of Dodge's 1999 Charger concept fresh in our head, we had the feeling that "Charger" was a significant buzzword to both DCX insiders and enthusiasts alike. Flat-out gorgeous and stuffed with all the right parts, Dodge's concept was the subject of many magazine covers and more than its share of scuttlebutt around the industry. As we now know, Daimler Chrysler was well along in its LX platform development, and the Charger show car could well have given product planners the public mandate they needed for the impressive bill of materials already coveted by engineers.
Fast forward to 2004. All the right parts end up on the LX cars, but there's no Charger in sight. Did DCX forget? Did they get cold feet? Does DCX have big plans to pull the wraps off a new Charger in the 2006 time frame? Being car guys, we're betting on this last possibility. Based on an unconfirmed rumor leaking out of the Mopar camp, a Hemi-powered Dodge Charger will be pounding pavement on a street near you and we think it could look similar to the car you see here.
In preparing this story, we contacted several DCX officials who would be in a position to confirm or deny the existence of a Charger program, but none of them would agree to publicly comment on the possibility. That's not particularly surprising, since confirming a future Charger would be against DCX policy, but we had to ask. Having said that, all the clues point to a future Charger. The overwhelming success of the 1999 Charger concept (especially in light of it being a four-door) gives the idea weight and staying power. The development of an appropriate powertrain (Hemi engine and 5-speed auto) and the design of a flexible architecture with the requisite strength and performance potential makes Charger economically feasible. But the most important clue is the strong emphasis on heritage and power in current media campaigns. Not to mention, there's our well-placed mole who told us he's seen four-door V-6 development cars.