The Dodge Challenger Came Close To Using The Alfa Romeo Giulia’s Platform
The current generation Dodge Challenger is set to be retired this year, and it’s undoubtedly been a hit over in the States. However, things could have turned out very differently for the outgoing Charger, as Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis has suggested that the V8-powered muscle car came close to using the platform from the Alfa Romeo Giulia during a recent refresh.
In a recent episode of the Autoline Network Podcast, Kuniskis suggested that Dodge executives considered upgrading the Challenger to Alfa’s ‘Giorgio’ rear-wheel-drive platform amidst a refresh between 2013 and 2015. The outgoing Challenger is built upon the platform of a 2008 Chrysler LC, so the fresher, Italian-made rear-wheel-drive platform could have been an incredible upgrade.
“On the Giorgio platform, we would have had a car that, quite frankly, would have been lighter, would have handled better,” Kuniskis told listeners on the podcast.
See also: Dodge’s Electric Charger SRT Concept Has Fake V8 Noise & Exhausts
The deal to bring the Grigio platform over to the Challenger would have made a lot of sense for all parties involved. At the time, Dodge was a part of the Fiat Chrysler Automobile group, giving the American carmaker access to some of its Italian colleagues’ technologies.
One potential reason why the platform wasn’t adopted could be that Dodge’s executives were afraid the Challenger would actually become too good.
Speaking about the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro, Kuniskis said “why would we want to go fight with them, in their sandbox? Let’s stay in our sandbox, and be totally different from them, go left when they’re goin’ right, and try to own this space.”
Unfortunately for Challenger enthusiasts, the deal didn’t end up happening, and the dated Chrysler platform has continued to be used throughout the car’s lifespan. The Challenger is still one of the best-selling cars in the United States, but we can only imagine how great it could have been with an updated RWD platform.
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Comments
‘We can only imagine how great it could have been with an updated RWD platform’
Everyone knows it wouldn’t be the same, that’s what make it what it is, yes, it’s huge like a boat, yes, it drives like one and yes, that’s what makes the Challenger a one of kind, say whatever you want, outdated, heavy and obscenely powerful, but still a best seller and lovable.