Editorial : August 28, 2008

Sometimes I have to remind myself I get paid to do what I do. Normally my typical morning at work consists of perusing MySpace and trying to remember what’s her name’s name, but this morning was different. Today I’m told that Scott Vandekerckhove, a representative from Chrysler with a name my spellchecker absolutely despises, is coming by the shop with the new Dodge Challenger SRT-8. Since August 13th, Scott has been driving down the east coast on a road tour to promote the new Dodge Challenger and after hearing about National Speed, decided to check out the shop and let us get a look under the hood.

Combining old school lines with a modern aesthetic, the new Dodge Challenger is a pretty sweet ride. In fact, I would say I prefer it to the new Mustang — sorry to the Ford lovers, I love Steve McQueen as much as the next guy, but the Challenger is so much cooler. The SRT-8 comes fully loaded with a 6.1-liter HEMI V8 engine capable of 425 horsepower and the suspension to back it up. And while we weren’t allowed to take it for a test drive (and considering my driving record that’s probably a good thing) we did manage to get the Challenger on the dyno.

When we strapped her down and cranked her up the Challenger’s GPS went absolutely nuts, thinking it was traveling at a ridiculous speed. By the end of the third pull I think the car ended up somewhere in eastern St. Louis. Overall, the Challenger is an impressive car and we’re stoked that Scott stopped by National Speed to let us check it out. He’s an awesome guy so be sure to give him a thumbs up when you see him cruising by picking up chicks along the east coast. You should also check out the official Dodge blog which details Scott’s adventures eastbound and down. Thanks again Scott for your hospitality. Now how about that test drive?

UPDATE – AUGUST 29, 2008

We previously held off on publishing the dyno results for the Challenger due to Chrysler having to approve it first. Luckily, Scott got back with us and we’ve been given the okay to post the dyno sheet. The Challenger ended up putting down 339 horses.