The Dodge Challenger’s Last Call Proves it Has No Rivals

Ever since it first hit the road for the 1970 model year, the Dodge Challenger has been the dominant pony car on the road. This is a powerful machine for people who want a car designed to leave its competitors in its dust, and Dodge has delivered that year after year. Although its run has been a bit disconnected over the years, ever since it returned for the 2008 model year, the Challenger has made its place known and held the top spot for raw power on the road. The time for conventional engines and power is coming to an end, however, and so the curtain is closing on the Dodge Challenger as we know it, making room for a new, all-electric future.

And yet, Dodge is not letting the Challenger go out with a whimper; instead, they are celebrating everything this remarkable beast has brought to the road over the years. As a Dodge dealer, we are incredibly excited to be a part of this, and one of our favorite aspects of this celebration is that Dodge is delivering four different special editions for the Challenger’s Last Call. These Last Call editions all demonstrate the kind of bold power and stunning design that has made the Challenger such an important part of the auto industry over the years. We can think of no better way to say goodbye to one of our favorite cars as we get ready to greet a new icon.

The Dodge Challenger Shakedown

The first of the Challenger’s Last Call models is the Shakedown, which takes its inspiration from a concept car Dodge showed off several years ago. That concept utilized elements from a classic 1970s Challenger and a new model, while the Last Call Shakedown is a purely modern Challenger with a style that harks back to the original glory days of the pony car. On the outside, the Challenger Shakedown features red 392 Fender graphics and a special spoiler graphic, along with a “Shakedown” stripe with red accent and special grille badging, plus six-piston Brembo brakes with red calipers.

Inside, you’ll find a matching interior that includes a “Shakedown” badge, along with black Nappa leather-trimmed/Alcantara seats with red stitching. This is joined by red interior accent stitching throughout, including on the console and steering wheel, plus “Demonic Red” seat belts that all come together to beautifully play with the exterior design. Dodge offers this special edition with either the R/T Scat Pack or R/T Scat Pack Widebody models, with an overall black and red aesthetic that goes beautifully with different exterior color options.

The Dodge Challenger Swinger

First used with the Dodge Dart more than 50 years ago, the “Swinger” name has been resurrected as part of the Challenger Last Call. This stunning special edition immediately stands out from other Challenger models for several reasons, starting with “Gold School” exterior touches, including a grille badge, SHAKER hood scoop, and rear spoiler badge. This is joined by a Retro green side stripe, Swinger exterior vinyl graphics, and more unique touches that set it apart from other Challenger models.

Moving inside, you’ll find wood grain textured aluminum bezels that look stunning, along with Nappa leather-trimmed/Alcantara seats with green stitching that really makes them pop. More Basil Green interior accents can be found throughout, along with white-faced gauges that really stand out and make a dramatic impression. This retro-themed option is only offered on select R/T Scat Pack Widebody models, making it quite limited and a fantastic choice for anyone who likes that old-school feel.

The Dodge Challenger Black Ghost

Although we would be hard-pressed to choose a favorite among the Last Call special editions of the Challenger, the Black Ghost might just be it. The name of this model is a reference to a particular 1970 Challenger owned by a man in Detroit, who was known for showing up at drag races, blowing everyone away, and then disappearing into the night. Dodge’s homage to that legendary phantom features Pitch Black exterior paint with a Black Gator Skin vinyl roof and a white deck lid stripe on the outside. This thing is an absolute monster with a specially tuned supercharged 6.2L V8 engine that delivers 807 hp, 10 hp more than other SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody models with the same engine.

Inside, the color scheme continues with special Black Ghost badging, along with Alcantara/Laguna leather-trimmed seats and door bolsters. There’s an Alcantara steering wheel with a red LED SRT logo, plus carbon fiber bezels and a suede headliner, making this machine not only incredibly powerful but also gorgeous. All of this comes together to create a stunningly gorgeous car that will leave everyone else in your dust—that is, of course, if you can get your hands on one of the only 300 of these to be released.

The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170

If raw, unbridled power is what you’re looking for, then Dodge has you covered with the final addition to the Last Call special edition lineup: the aptly named Demon 170. Calling the power that comes out of this thing “demonic” is a bit of an understatement; it’s the fastest vehicle that Dodge has ever produced. At the heart of this infernal beast is a supercharged 6.2L HEMI V8 engine that has been tuned to deliver 1,025 hp and 945 lb-ft of torque. We’ll repeat that: this monster has a 1,025-hp engine roaring to life under its hood. The only way to get this kind of power is to use E85 gasoline that includes 170-proof ethanol as part of its fuel mixture, hence the “Demon 170” name.

This is officially the world’s quickest production car, with the ability to go from 0 to 60 mph in 1.66 seconds, delivering more than 2.0 Gs of force while accelerating. This is also the first-ever factory muscle car to hit a quarter-mile in 8.91 seconds at more than 151 mph. Of course, it also happens to look gorgeous from the outside, but most of the attention on the Demon 170 is (rightly) focused on the power that Dodge has managed to pack into it. It features a special Drag Mode suspension that’s uniquely tuned with adaptive-damping shocks to help deliver incredible momentum, plus a staggered widebody design, the first-ever factory production car built with this kind of design. Dodge has pulled out all of the stops with this one, and it shows.

There’s a single seat inside the Demon 170 since it’s built to destroy race tracks and drag strips, though a second seat is available, and both can come wrapped in Nappa leather for added comfort. There’s nothing else quite like this on the road or track, and everything about the Demon 170—inside and out—is built to deliver an unmatched driving experience. Last time we checked, Dodge hadn’t released a final number of how many of these would be available, though they said they wanted to get at least 3,000 of them built for drivers looking for an exceptional experience you can’t find anywhere else.

Ready to Meet the New Challenger?

We love that Dodge has sent the Challenger out in style, but now we’re more excited than ever to see what’s still to come. If they can build a V8 engine in a car that puts out more than 1,000 hp, then the idea of what they’ll be able to do with new electric engineering and design has us at the edge of our seats. We know there are a lot of skeptics about whether EVs can deliver muscle car performance and feel, but if anyone can figure out how to pull it off, it’s the team at Dodge.

They have a lot riding on their ability to embrace the future while staying true to the legacy they’ve built over the decades, but we’re confident that they’ll live up to everything that has come before. An electrified Hellcat or Demon is something that we never expected to see, but we can’t wait to discover what something like that will have to offer.