Because Traction: The Hemi-Powered Dodge Challenger GT AWD Concept (2024)

What’s that you say? Leaving a pair of telltale hot-rubber molten stripes behind each time you dip into the ol’ funpedal has become passé? Your old lady is coming down on you for spending the grocery money on tires? You love the Dodge Challenger with the 5.7-liter Hemi but driving it in the winter is like trying to steer a hot-air balloon in a hurricane? Fear not, Mopar fans, Dodge has just the thing you need, and it’s called the Challenger GT AWD concept.

Set to debut at the 2015 SEMA show, the Challenger GT AWD concept is just that: a concept. Built on the bones of the Challenger with the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 and the new Scat Pack 3 Performance Kit (Mopar Performance CNC-ported cylinder heads, Mopar high-flow manifolds and high-flow catalysts, a gasket set, exhaust manifolds, exhaust adapter, and, of course, two Scat Pack badges), the car also packsan eight-speed automatic. With the Scat Pack 3 kit in place, the 5.7 makes an additional 75 horsepower and 44 lb-ft of torque for totals of 447 and 454, all with the factory warranty still in full effect.

Dodgehasn’t elaborated too much on the specifics of the all-wheel-drive system. It’s good bet, however, that it utilizes identical (or slightly beefed-up)versionsof the components used in the Challenger’s platform-mates, theCharger AWD and Chrysler 300 AWD models. (For another peek at the future of high-performance four-wheel drive at Fiat-Chrysler, look no further than theupcoming Hellcat-poweredJeep Trackhawk.) Beyond sending power to its front wheels,the Challenger GT AWD alsogets a prototypeMopar suspension kit that lowers the car and is said to improve handling, as well as production Mopar front and rear strut-tower braces to stiffen things up.

On the cosmetics front,Mopar went the tri-tone route, painting the body in Destroyer Grey and matte black, with Header Orange highlighting the mirror caps, grille and taillight surrounds, and off-center stripe that runs stem to stern. A conceptual Mopar wide-body kit with substantial wheel flares shrouds five-spoke, 20-inch wheels measuring 10 inches wide in front and 11 inches wide in the rear. The center caps are Mopar units painted to match the body and wheels. The chin splitter and rear spoiler are included as part of the concept body kit, while theexhaust tips, fuel-filler door, and decklid badge are all from the Mopar catalog.

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Header Orange makes an interior appearance in the form of stitching on the leather seats, center console, shifter boot, and doorpanels. A (slightly) flat-bottom steering wheel and Mopar sill plateswith the Challenger logo finish out the cabin, and a trunk mat keeps things tidy in the cargo hold.

While we don’t have confirmation that an AWD Challenger will become a production reality, we’ll admit to being highly stoked at the idea of outfitting one with studded winter tires and hitting a frozen lake for some sideways driving set toa Hemi V-8 soundtrack.