If This Hint Is Real, The Dodge Charger and Challenger Will Live to Be 15 Years Old

TopSpeed

By Tudor Rus

Published Oct 19, 2019

At this point, should we wish them happy birthday or… happy retirement?

Let’s not hide from the fact that both the outgoing Dodge Challenger and the Charger are old-boned cars by now. Sure, they’ve managed to carve a path of their own, and let’s also remember that the Charger is the best selling full-size sedan in the States, while the Challenger just snatched the sales crown from the Mustang and the Camaro. However, a possible Easter egg might suggest that they might be getting a new generation in 2023.

Dodge loves a proper Easter egg, just like it enjoys throwing clues around about its upcoming vehicles. Remember the Demon Hellcat riddles that went on for weeks prior to the car’s launch? Well, Dodge did take it down a notch, apparently, but the game is still on.

It was only a couple of months ago when Dodge announced that the reveal of its next-gen Charger-Challenger duo will be pushed back, and most of us guesstimated that the delay could extend to as much as two years. Well, it turns out that we weren’t that far off, provided Dodge is still fooling around with riddles and whatnot. Muscle Cars and Trucks reports that Mopar Insiders spotted what might just be an Easter egg of sorts in one of the official press photos of the 2020 Dodge Challenger.

If Dodge did this on purpose, then it’s a hat tip to them. What they just pulled off is a subtle and classy way of letting the fan base know that the new Challenger and Charger are indeed coming in 2023. This should also provide the sought-after amount of hype around the two models, as we all know that carmakers these days have the hots for teaser photos and videos - or riddles, as it’s the case with Dodge.

Coming back to the topic at hand, it’s also worth mentioning that 2023 is the year when, theoretically, the current sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro is supposed to trade places with a new model. Is spoiling that party a secondary reason as to why Dodge pushed back the launch of the Challenger (and Charger)? We can’t say yes or no, but we’re willing to take that into account too.

In any case, the current Dodge Challenger and Charger are worthy of a documentary of their own, to say the least. Maybe even a book. It’s true that Dodge worked hard at keeping its two muscle cars in the game for as long as possible, but they somehow project that old-school flavor you don’t really get any more from the likes of Camaro and Mustang, which have been fitted with their fair share of technology and have also received more modern, sharp-looking styling cues.

Oh, and speaking of corners, rumor has it that Dodge is currently brewing a track-focused Challenger that will, reportedly, wear the ACR badge. Looking at the bigger picture, such a version of the Challenger would make for an outstanding swan song, don’t you think? Especially after we’ve seen the Challenger trying on so many fancy-tickling flavors over the years: SRT Hellcat, SRT Demon, SRT Hellcat Redeye, and Scat Pack 1320. Sure, it’s ridiculous that Dodge allowed its two spearheads to age that much, but hey, even if the explanation has financial roots, there’s not much we can do to change the situation. It is what it is.

Moreover, we have good reason to believe that the old-school design of the two will be carried over to the next generation, albeit on a brand new platform (there’s no word on that, but for the time being, it looks like the right thing to do). Dodge Design boss Mark Trostle told Muscle Cars and Trucks in a separate interview that he believes “part of the success of the Challenger and Charger, which is phenomenal, is the magic of their designs. I wouldn’t want to ruin something that’s been so successful for us.” Well, Mr. Trostle, we couldn’t agree more. You don’t mess with a working recipe because you know what they say, perfect is the enemy of good.

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