2009 Dodge Challenger: the revival becomes a range

This record's own dek describes 2009 as the year the revival became a range: SE, R/T and SRT8 trims, a six-speed manual, and a mid-year R/T Classic in throwback stripes. This record's own overview states that Chrysler introduced the full 2009 Challenger line at the New York show on March 18, 2008, a V-6 SE, a 5.7 HEMI R/T and the 6.1 HEMI SRT8, all built at Brampton, with the August 2008 press kit pricing the SE from $22,545 including $725 destination.^1,2

The SRT8 gained a Tremec TR-6060 six-speed manual beside its five-speed automatic, plus a limited-slip differential, per this record's own overview, while the R/T came with either a five-speed automatic with the Multi-Displacement System or the six-speed manual, the manual cars rated slightly higher on premium fuel. A mid-year R/T Classic, from $34,005 including destination, added throwback R/T stripes, 20-inch chrome wheels and an egg-crate grille, with production beginning at Brampton in February 2009.^3,4

This record's own production section states plainly that no model-year production figure for the 2009 Challenger was found in a Chrysler source; Chrysler's own sales report instead gives 25,852 US Challenger sales in calendar 2009, a whole-nameplate figure this record's own note describes as mixing 2009 and 2010 model-year cars rather than a true model-year count, and that figure is reused as the best available substitute for a total. Three separately scoped, worldwide production counts by color are also documented: 6,029 HEMI Orange cars across R/T and SRT8, 1,419 B5 Blue cars across R/T Classic and SRT8, and 4,677 TorRed cars across all models, none of them a partition of any published total.^5,6

Four engines are documented: the 3.5-liter High Output V-6 at 250 hp and 250 lb-ft standard on the SE, the 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 at 372 hp and 400 lb-ft with the automatic, the same 5.7 at 376 hp and 410 lb-ft with the six-speed manual on premium fuel, and the 6.1-liter SRT HEMI V-8 at 425 hp and 420 lb-ft standard on the SRT8. This record's own engine notes flag that the 5.7's ratings differ across Chrysler's own documents, a discrepancy carried into this record's conflicts section. Three transmissions are documented: a four-speed automatic on the SE, a five-speed automatic with AutoStick on the R/T and SRT8, and the TR-6060 six-speed manual, with a dual-disc clutch on the SRT8.^2,3

This record documents an extensive options list, including the R/T Classic model itself, a Track Pak, the SRT8's new-for-2009 standard limited-slip differential, Goodyear F1 Supercar tires, several lettered Popular Equipment Packages, layered Sound Groups, an Electronics Convenience Group, and the mid-year SE Rallye package with dual stripes and 18-inch black-pocket wheels. Nine exterior colors are documented, three of them with the color-specific production counts noted above, alongside five interior trim descriptions and a specifications section carrying a 3.91 SRT8 final-drive ratio, 16.2 cu ft of trunk volume, 32.6 inches of rear legroom, and February 2009 and April 2009 production starts for the R/T Classic and SE Rallye respectively.^7,8

This record's own performance section carries two manufacturer claims, a 4.9-second 0-60 mph for the SRT8 and a sub-6-second 0-60 mph for the manual R/T, and its identification section documents Brampton Assembly in Ontario as the build plant, with the 6.1 SRT8 engine sourced from Saltillo, Mexico and the TR-6060 manual from Tremec in Queretaro, Mexico. Its conflicts section logs two disputes: three different readings for the R/T's 5.7 HEMI ratings across a March 2008 preliminary release, the August 2008 press kit, and the February 2009 R/T Classic release, and two different names for the new SRT8 red, High Performance Red Clear Coat against TorRed, with this record's own treatment noting that the factory limited-color table counts only TorRed and lists no "High Performance Red."³