Challenger/Barracuda Rumor

I spotted this rumor on another forum and thought that I would pass it along.

"From a close source at the Mopar Nats this past weekend, a buddy went down there & spoke for close to an hour about the fate of the Challenger & the new proposed Cuda to someone I've known for over 30 years. The word is the Cuda is officially dead, & the Challenger will live on. Too much tooling cost for the new Cuda so Sergio killed it. The Challenger will get a front & rear facelift - the fascias will get re-sculpted some plus maybe some other refinements. I think they can remove some of the "bulky" look to the Challengers with some restyling of the fascias. Also, our buddy reports the supercharged Hemis are going to produce HUGE HP, as the Dodge Boys do not intend to be outdone by anything Ford or GM are stuffing into Mustangs & Camaros."

If this is true, I am not that excited for several reasons:

1. I wanted to see a new Barracuda built.
2. For selfish reasons, do not want to see more Challengers on the road.
3. I do not want Dodge to ruin the look of the Challenger, like it did in 1972, with grill and tail light changes.
4. A 550 hp 6.2 Hemi, in an existing Challenger chassis, will not be enough to top lighter cars like the GT500 Shelby and its 620 hp.

 

Here is some news from Edmunds about a new factory supercharger kit fr the Hemi.

http://blogs.insideline.com/straigh...rger-kit-for-2013-charger-challenger-srt8.htm

 

I bet we hear about them starting them up in a year or so. Watch

 

Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne told the Detroit Free Press that V8-powered cars like his company’s Dodge Challenger will become as “rare as white flies” under new fuel efficiency standards announced by the Obama administration yesterday.
The new regulations, which will require a fleet wide fuel economy average of 54.5 mpg by the year 2025 will “change the way the industry operates” and means that automakers must deploy significantly new technologies and must change the way cars are designed, according to Marchionne. "We are struggling with some big choices we need to make," he said.
Chrysler officially supports the new targets, and Marchionne believes they can be met, but the company currently lacks any high mileage hybrid or battery-powered cars in its lineup while offering four popular vehicles from its SRT high-performance division that are powered by a supercharged Hemi V8 engine and get 17 mpg combined or less.
Next year, the Fiat brand will begin selling a low-volume electric version of its 500 microcar, but Chrysler’s further efforts in the alternative fuel arena are unclear. Less so is the introduction later this year of the 640 hp V10-powered SRT Viper supercar, which sounds like it could end up being the only thing rarer than a white fly.

 

Just to confuse things, Car & Driver, in its October issue, states that Chrysler will be introducing a new Barracuda model in 2015. Previous rumors have said that it won't be a retro model. What do you think of this artist's rendition? It looks cool and very modern but, personally, I'll keep my retro-styled Challenger. Here is the article.

 

Here is another 2015 Barracuda rendering that I came across. It's, obviously, not a retro design, but what do you think of it?