Have you heard of the "Core" SRT8 Challenger

[BB1]

It's a striped down SRT8 with all the power and none of the high priced leather or much of anything else.

Price is $5000. less than the full price SRT8 model, starting at $39,995.

Kind of like a roadrunner, not much but stickers that say 392

Build and price on Dodge.com

I'm getting a Challenger in year or so, might be an option

[JB400]

I've heard of it.  It's like the Super Bee in the Charger SRT's.  I guess they have been selling more of the Super Bees than what they originally thought, so they are doing the same to the Challengers and 300's as well.

Some people do want just the performance without all the extra gadgets.

[BB1]

I can see that's a good marketing strategy more bang for the buck.

For an enthusiast like me I want all the power of an old muscle car without all the bells and whistles.
I can see myself buying one, for all I'm going to do is flog the hell out of it.  

I'll never drive it in bad weather, just a weekend killer.

I don't see the super trk pac option though, only 308 gears. Wonder if it can be special ordered?

They have it in Hemi Orange and Plum Crazy, White and Black.

[JB400]

I think that is the only option for the SRT's unless you go auto, which is 3.91's.

[charger Downunder]

A poverty pack all go no options sounds like a car i would buy.

[Fred]

Stripped down versions sound good initially, cost being a major draw card but I think in the end there is always regret that you didn't get the fully loaded version.    
You only need to look at all the members that are turning their basic 2nd gen. charger's into R/T's etc. and adding all the extras available to know where I'm coming from.

[JB400]

Here is what SRT is doing with the Core models

http://www.drivesrt.com/news/2013/02/srt-core-models-are-built-for-enthusiasts-heritage-colors-return.html

Personally, I don't care about foglamps, leather seats, and the color of brake rotors.  I also hear they do away with the lighted cup holders and maybe navigation, (rumor).  Basically, it's the same recipe as the Road Runner.

[Fred]

Thanks stroker, that's interesting reading. 

[dyslexic teddybear]

I like.

Black.....looks kinda subtle 

If they dropped the price more.....I'd even roll up my own windows.

[NYCMille]

Just be aware, this is a BIG car with some VERY noticeable blind spots. Also, it's not a canyon carver or a road course car. It is however an outstanding open road/GT car. I just did 1,200 miles in 3 days in a new 392 and averaged 21.3 mpg cruising at 85-90 mph. Very impressed.

[Baldwinvette77]

Neat idea, but i think they can do better, even less equipment and a lower price 

[Ponch ®]

Stripped down versions sound good initially, cost being a major draw card but I think in the end there is always regret that you didn't get the fully loaded version.    
You only need to look at all the members that are turning their basic 2nd gen. charger's into R/T's etc. and adding all the extras available to know where I'm coming from.

what he said. I remember when I bought my 06 Charger (it was the first "new" car I ever bought) I didn't care about it being a stripped down, very base model with a paltry 2.7 V6. I was happy with it the first few months, but pretty soon I started missing simple things that make the car look better (foglights) or more comfortable/convenient etc (power seats on both driver AND passenger side, the Auto-Stick option). I started noticing it more especially once I got involved in the local LX scene. So, obviously the 2.7 V6 was a problem, but all the other stuff (or lack thereof) made it much worse. Traded it in less than a year later for the R/T which is still my daily driver (except today - rolled the Satellite to work!) and I'm not quite bored with it yet.

Besides, when you're talking $5000 off a $45000 car...really, does it matter that much? Maybe $5000 off a $20000 car, but at that price range, if you can't afford the $45K you probably shouldn't be buying a $40K car anyway. If you can, then plunk down the cash and just buy the damn thing nicely loaded.

[BB1]

I would agree Poncho, although it wouldn't be a daily driver. My Hyundai does a great job of that.

I'm thinking the major auto makers have the total wiring harness installed on every vehicle. If you wanted fog lights, the wires are there just plug and play. The Challenger would still have power window,
you can upgrade the radio, and it would still have A/C, anti loc brks, traction control.

392 Hemi can easily get power boosts from exhaust and cold air, along with new chip. Just think what a super charger would do, 500 to 600 Hp!

I see it as a blank sheet, take the savings and change the wheels, upgrade the before mentioned parts,
and take on the 1/4 mile. 

And get 23 mpg

[Bobs69]

Stripped down versions sound good initially, cost being a major draw card but I think in the end there is always regret that you didn't get the fully loaded version.    
You only need to look at all the members that are turning their basic 2nd gen. charger's into R/T's etc. and adding all the extras available to know where I'm coming from.

Close enough to what I was thinking.

[moparstuart]

Neat idea, but i think they can do better, even less equipment and a lower price  

Agreed yeah the road runner was a go fast 383 car  , put a little hotter  5.7 in one and strip it down to bare bones and price it for just under 25k and i think they would sell  like hot cakes .  

[Ponch ®]

I would agree Poncho, although it wouldn't be a daily driver. My Hyundai does a great job of that.

I'm thinking the major auto makers have the total wiring harness installed on every vehicle. If you wanted fog lights, the wires are there just plug and play. The Challenger would still have power window,
you can upgrade the radio, and it would still have A/C, anti loc brks, traction control.

392 Hemi can easily get power boosts from exhaust and cold air, along with new chip. Just think what a super charger would do, 500 to 600 Hp!

I see it as a blank sheet, take the savings and change the wheels, upgrade the before mentioned parts,
and take on the 1/4 mile. 

And get 23 mpg

well yeah, a lot of that stuff (like the foglights and upgraded stereo) is plug and play...but by the time you gather the parts, pay someone who knows what they're doing to do it - because, for example, installing fog lights requires that the car's computer be reflashed by the dealer - you've already bitten into a good chunk of what you initially saved by buying the stripped down version...

[BB1]

True, I'm the guy that wouldn't upgrade a thing, just flash the computer engine controls, replace the cam, port the heads, headers, exhaust, ext...

Make that Hemi snap your spinal cord every time you launch it, over and over again. 
I wouldn't get my money out of it, but I plan on it being the last new car I'll ever own, if not the last Mopar.
I think I have about 25 good years left to live, so I'm saving and keeping myself healthy till then.

I have to wait untill all my bills are paid off, that's a must. I don't have a family of my own, just the MoPar family for the most part.

It would be fantastic to have it in my stable. 

[Troy]

I would agree Poncho, although it wouldn't be a daily driver. My Hyundai does a great job of that.

I'm thinking the major auto makers have the total wiring harness installed on every vehicle. If you wanted fog lights, the wires are there just plug and play. The Challenger would still have power window,
you can upgrade the radio, and it would still have A/C, anti loc brks, traction control.

392 Hemi can easily get power boosts from exhaust and cold air, along with new chip. Just think what a super charger would do, 500 to 600 Hp!

I see it as a blank sheet, take the savings and change the wheels, upgrade the before mentioned parts,
and take on the 1/4 mile. 

And get 23 mpg

well yeah, a lot of that stuff (like the foglights and upgraded stereo) is plug and play...but by the time you gather the parts, pay someone who knows what they're doing to do it - because, for example, installing fog lights requires that the car's computer be reflashed by the dealer - you've already bitten into a good chunk of what you initially saved by buying the stripped down version...

Exactly! Unless they removed a bunch of weight I think driving won't be much different and resale will suffer.

Troy

[Fred]

I would agree Poncho, although it wouldn't be a daily driver. My Hyundai does a great job of that.

I'm thinking the major auto makers have the total wiring harness installed on every vehicle. If you wanted fog lights, the wires are there just plug and play. The Challenger would still have power window,
you can upgrade the radio, and it would still have A/C, anti loc brks, traction control.

392 Hemi can easily get power boosts from exhaust and cold air, along with new chip. Just think what a super charger would do, 500 to 600 Hp!

I see it as a blank sheet, take the savings and change the wheels, upgrade the before mentioned parts,
and take on the 1/4 mile. 

And get 23 mpg

well yeah, a lot of that stuff (like the foglights and upgraded stereo) is plug and play...but by the time you gather the parts, pay someone who knows what they're doing to do it - because, for example, installing fog lights requires that the car's computer be reflashed by the dealer - you've already bitten into a good chunk of what you initially saved by buying the stripped down version...

And if by then you've had enough and want to trade up, depreciation on the vehicle will leave you sorely out of pocket. 

[Ponch ®]

I guess it really depends on the person buying the car. If you're just gonna drive it to local 1/4 or 1/8 mile weekend event or if you're one of those "i dont need nothin fancier than an 8 track in my car" types, then these cars are good for you. But then there those like me, who can't leave a car "stock" for too long. So yeah, having the nice canvas to start with is ok, but you don't want it to be too blank of a canvas - mostly for the money reasons we've already discussed. Might as well have something good to start with.

[mauve66]

but if your gonna modify it anyway, why pay dealer price for the stock stereo and fog lights??  I just want the motor, manual trans, cloth seats and lets go.  if i want fog lights/stereo later i can just wire them to the battery and a toggle switch, i sure don't need to worry about the computer for them

speaking of manual trans, anyone know why they can't put the manual trans in the charger SRT??

[69rtse4spd]

Save the 5000.00, invest in exhaust upgrades, & cold air intake. Your going to do that anyway, & how many of us use the fog lights anyway, got them on my daily driver, don't use them. Now they need to bring back Limelight & would think really hard about reducing the heard & getting a Charger.

[Ponch ®]

but if your gonna modify it anyway, why pay dealer price for the stock stereo and fog lights??  I just want the motor, manual trans, cloth seats and lets go.  if i want fog lights/stereo later i can just wire them to the battery and a toggle switch, i sure don't need to worry about the computer for them

speaking of manual trans, anyone know why they can't put the manual trans in the charger SRT??

1) b/c "dealer price" is only astronomical if those parts werent factory installed. Example? Mrs Ponch's Challenger R/T was only a couple of grand more than a V6 w a lot less options. If we'd bought the V6 and then tried to get those parts installed, it  probably would have cost more than the R/T that already came with them.

2) I talked to an SRT engineer a year or two ago about that. He gave me some long winded story about how the tranny tunnel/hump design on the 4 door cars (charger, 300) would make it  prohibitively expensive to install a manual. I thought it was BS - there probably just isn't enough demand for manuals on those cars.

[BB1]

It's how you look at it guess,... how well do these LX platforms retain value over the years?
When it is replaced, will retro names and cars be a part of Fiats vision. Barracuda???

The trend is smaller, better mpg, electric hybrid, I believe these cars don't have much of a future just like the 1960s and 1970s. economics wins out.

The new muscle car era has been a big win for our side, sure the Charger should have had 2 doors, and the Dart looks like a bug, but the Challenger has shined.
I drove one for a half-a-day, before I gave it back to Carmax, I haven't smiled like that in 30 years.

SRT8 is a company/club of people that holds events all over the country, it's a $45k ticket to ride just BYOC,(Bring Your Own Car).

Other than a Viper which is over my head new, the perfectly plump Challenger can still runs hard around the track and looks good doing it.

Like Mike I'd like to run road rallies, GT, whatever is out there to run, balls to the M-fo walls.
Arizona has one, I hope still. You know Cannon Balls!

All I need is a navigator, I'll take Stu!  

[ws23rt]

I went for an srt challenger because of the look. ( I think it is an improvement over the 70 challenger. sorta like the new mustangs are an improvement over the originals) Still think it could be done with a charger.
As far as the option loading on the car I went for a few things I didn't want so much, just to help with future resale value. I have no regrets and do enjoy the new dodge differently than the old one.
The 69 hemi has heavy clutch effort, the car shakes, I can smell the exhaust, Doesn't corner or stop very well. This is all good stuff
The 09 hemi almost shifts itself, Smooth, sounds good, I can drive out a full tank and don't feel the need to stretch,corners and stops hard enough to give me vertigo.
Opps I digress. My opinion is to option up as much as possible. Making changes to the new ones will never be as easy as it used to be and low option cars always bring lower selling prices.

I did buy a superbee new cause I couldn't afford the coronet hemi I wanted.