Hello kids. I am here today to speak of something profound, amazing and absolutely this years number one American Muscle car. The 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392. I shutter at the very mention of it's name. You may be asking why I shutter at a name? What's so great about it? What the hell does 392 mean anyway? I'll tell you what 392 means. It means the introduction of a legendary 392-cubic inch 6.4L V8 HEMI for the masses. It is a modern engineering marvel. Now everyone is probably saying "great, another huge V-8 that sucks my gas away." Well for those of you worried about that here's my advice, buy a Corolla or something. But if u want to look cool and save some money on gas the automatic models come with Fuel Saver technology, 4-cylinder mode. But us men will take a standard, without the 4-cylinder crap that takes away from those 470 beautiful HEMI horsepowers.
Now let me give you a little back brief on the 392's history. Back in 1957 the original 392 HEMI was introduced in that years Chrysler and Imperial products. It replaced the original 354 HEMI. The 392 had larger valves and ports, a beefier block and crankshaft and improved bearings. At the end of the day the "92" was more powerful and perfect for drag racing. In fact the 392 HEMI broke the 200 mph barrier when drag racing legend Don "Big Daddy" Garlits ran his Swamp Rat I dragster at Atco, N.J. in 1964. The Swamp Rat officially ran a whopping 201.34 mph. The 392 also set records at the Bonneville Salt Flats and various boat racing circuits. Then it was later used by Don "The Snake" Prudhomme to dominate California's Top Fuel in the early 1960's.
So what? That's ancient history about a couple of old dudes with weird nicknames. True. But the fact that Ralph Gilles thought that the old 392 would be the best bet to give us Dodge fans the excessive power we want off the line really says something about it. Don't you think? Well it doesn't matter what you think. Write your own blog. Anyway, this new Challenger isn't just about the 392. Sure it pumps out 470 horses. Sure it produces 470 lb.-ft. of torque. (That's some serious torque). And sure it did all that breaking speed barrier stuff before you were born. But this new Challenger also offers all the comfort and fancy things that all the other ones gave you. But one of my favorite additions (in the man version of the car) is the Tremec TR 6060 six-speed manual transmission that was first offered to us in the 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10. Not to mention the sound that the SRT-tuned exhaust lets off whilst thundering down the highway. To me it sounds something like a mix between a lion and Hugh Jackson growling.
Furthermore, the 392 still has that same aggressive get out of my way Challenger look. Only now you can get it with Blue Viper stripes. And that "392'' badge let's everyone else know that you got a raise at the office. Not too mention the 20 inch SRT exclusive wheels, Smooth Pearl White leather trimmed interior, carbon fiber steering wheel, SRT exclusive Electronic Vehicle Information Center and seats that remember where you like to sit. The big brains at Dodge also did a bunch of fancy things to the suspension so it rides smooth but goes around the corners with the poise of a cheetah chasing down it's dinner. As a matter of fact the only downfall I can see with the Challenger 392 is that they are only making 1,392 of them, 1,000 for us Americans and for some reason 392 for the Canadians.
So with all that said I think Mr.Gilles is moving the company in the right direction. Not everyone will be able to purchase one of these bad boys, but the fact that they even did something like this with the way the economy is and all says something. It says to me they really care. Of course he probably just hopes all 1,392 of them sell and he makes his money. But still the 392 screams passion for the American muscle car that I haven't heard since, well since 1972. And I hope it's good enough for all you Dodge fans out there, because it's good enough for me. I'm just glad to see that Mr. Gilles isn't disgracing the Challenger name like some other people are disgracing a certain other "muscle car" that starts with "Ford" and ends with "Mustang". But even if you can't get your led foot on a 392 the R/T for this year is still a phenomenal car, and I've even heard good things about the SE (maybe not). So I'm going to go out on a limb and say the 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 is this years best American Muscle car. In time, maybe this years best American car period. Maybe.
