New Dodge Charger Website. Barracuda??

[99GTS]

So one of the car sites I look at had a link to this new website launched by Dodge. Even though I’m not particularly interested in the new Charger I decided to take a look.

Dodge Charger Portal​

www.dodgechargerportal.com

If you spin around in the virtual garage there is a car under a sheet. I assumed it was just the upcoming Banshee but then I noticed that it has a pretty prominent hood scoop (I think). When I zoomed in I noticed that there was a sign on the wall behind it to the right that said Radford. Ok nothing unusual there.

BUT, I also noticed a weird looking sign behind it to the left. When I zoomed up on that sign it immediately stood out as a modern rendering of the old Barracuda logo.

So who knows but now that “V8 is no longer a bad word” at Dodge maybe, just maybe, they have reversed course and figured out a way to put a V8 in the car. Or maybe it will be their highest output 6 cylinder and it’ll further disappoint most of us.

Either way I find the Barracuda (at least that’s what I see) sign interesting…. I guess we will see if the sheet ever comes off.

I’ll attach pictures below.

 

[Mopar426]

Lets hope they weren't planning on Barracuda being EV and Cuda being gas or vice versa (like Daytona and Charger). If Cuda is coming back it needs a V8, especially right now.

 

[Mopar392]

Well, that would be interesting to have 2 2-door cars, Charger 2-door SixPack with Hurricane 6TT and the assumed Barracuda/Cuda with a V8.

But I don’t see it happening considering they potentially could be sized similarly or closed and offer similarly or closed performance.

I think it’s either a tease for the SixPack Charger or just a simple stripe and decal option.

 

[Mopar426]

The Cuda trademark in November 2024 was for concept vehicles. On March 11 it switched to "badges of metal for vehicles / decals"

They are definitely working on something behind the scenes

Disregard the old notion that they'd never build two different coupes - unless its a coupe they'll just buy a CUV/SUV and on top of that more people drive alone than ever before. Times have changed

 

[Mopar392]

Every single automaker is streamlining its sports cars offering, because the ROI doesn’t justify multiple sports cars.
They have to be distinctive i.e. a 2-seater and 2+2 .

 

[99GTS]

Every single automaker is streamlining its sports cars offering, because the ROI doesn’t justify multiple sports cars.
They have to be distinctive i.e. a 2-seater and 2+2 .

Yeah I know what you mean. Although I think the likes of GM and Dodge would be better off doing a 2 seater sports car (Vette Viper) and a true 5 seater muscle car with a big trunk.

I think a large part of why the Camaro languished was it competed too heavily with the Corvette. I think the ZL1 1LE was too close to the C7 Z06 in performance. It also sacrificed usable rear seat space, trunk space (I bet a C7 had way more cubic feet of trunk space in its hatch), and visibility to make it an excellent, C7 rivaling, sports car. It didn’t even seem like a pony car at the end.

I think GM should have looked at what Dodge was doing with the success of the Challenger and Charger. If GM had built a large usable 5 seater muscle car platform, with a district 2 and 4 door model, I think it would have been a huge success alongside the Corvette. Call it Chevelle and Impala. Proper retro style, large comfortable interior with usable back seats, huge trunk, and a focus on straight line speed. Leave the Corvette for true track performance.

Dodge got the Challenger and Charger right. I’m a 2nd gen Viper owner (and a Challenger Hellcat owner) and I loved what they did with the gen 5 Viper. However, I understand why the Viper wasn’t really a huge seller. I think safety regulations killed it if I remember right but the fact that it was an intimidating, brutally perceived, V10, M6 only, hardcore sports car; I was never surprised it wasn’t a massive seller. When Dodge got the Challenger just right in 2015 with the Scat Packs and Hellcats I wish they had released a car based on the Viper platform, with drastically different styling, that offered a 392 or Hellcat V8, a choice of an automatic, and a larger trunk. I also think there would have been room to keep the Viper and maybe add a supercharger or turbos to the V10 to keep it ahead of its Hellcat powered siblings.


In short:

1. Charger and Challenger as they were done.

2. More of a direct Corvette rival built on the Viper chassis, with 2 powerful V8 options and a choice of a manual or automatic. Focus on comfort and trunk space along with track prowess. Maybe call it Copperhead.

3. Viper as the true halo car. Still V10 and Manual only but at least with the option of forced induction.

I would think building the “Copperhead” on the Viper platform would have made a better business case for keeping the Viper around too as it would cut down on production costs. They should be distinctly different looking though. Like the Charger and Challenger.

 

[Mopar426]

Most of the Camaro and Mustang offerings chased silly nurburgring lap times that nobody even cares about except kids on the internet that could never afford the car anyways. They put in all the work to make them handle like F1 cars just for buyers to drive them back and forth to work down the highway and back. Its why the Challenger was outselling them. Coupes will sell, but they have to be done right for this market. For GM the right car to bring back is the Chevelle, they can sell it as a wicked muscle coupe but also a 4 door and even a truck like it was in the 60's and 70's. Hows that for platform and marketing value?

I wouldn't touch a small roadster with a 10 - foot pole, no idea why one of those keeps getting mentioned. Fiat already did that and couldn't give them away, sold right in Dodge showrooms. With those you get no room at all or performance. Half the damn US couldn't even fit in one.

 

[Mopar392]

With cars getting more and more expensive, there’s apparently a market for sub-30k sports car.
But it all depends whether a manufacturer has the luxury to spend the money in this niche segment like Toyota or rather spend the money on the bread and butter segments.

 

[99GTS]

Most of the Camaro and Mustang offerings chased silly nurburgring lap times that nobody even cares about except kids on the internet that could never afford the car anyways. They put in all the work to make them handle like F1 cars just for buyers to drive them back and forth to work down the highway and back. Its why the Challenger was outselling them. Coupes will sell, but they have to be done right for this market. For GM the right car to bring back is the Chevelle, they can sell it as a wicked muscle coupe but also a 4 door and even a truck like it was in the 60's and 70's. Hows that for platform and marketing value?

I wouldn't touch a small roadster with a 10 - foot pole, no idea why one of those keeps getting mentioned. Fiat already did that and couldn't give them away, sold right in Dodge showrooms. With those you get no room at all or performance. Half the damn US couldn't even fit in one.

I agree with everything except I’d be very interested in a modern Shelby cobra style roadster

V8 M6 rwd and under 3000lbs but dream for sure

 

[Mopar426]

I agree with everything except I’d be very interested in a modern Shelby cobra style roadster

V8 M6 rwd and under 3000lbs but dream for sure

I believe thats what the Viper originally was, a modern Cobra. Cool car, but wrong timing at the moment

 

[WXman]

The new Charger is even larger than the old Charger/Challenger, and those cars got teased for being too big. So I think there is an obvious opportunity here to introduce a "pony car" to compete directly with the Ford Mustang. Call it a 'Cuda and drop a 392 Hemi and a Tremec TR6060 in it and try to keep up with demand.....

 

[99GTS]

Eh

The new Charger is even larger than the old Charger/Challenger, and those cars got teased for being too big. So I think there is an obvious opportunity here to introduce a "pony car" to compete directly with the Ford Mustang. Call it a 'Cuda and drop a 392 Hemi and a Tremec TR6060 in it and try to keep up with demand.....

Ehh to each their own. I think the Challenger outsold the Mustang and the Camaro towards the end of their life cycle primarily because it was bigger and more usable.

I certainly prefer it being bigger. But I also have a Viper for a real sports car. To me the mustang being the only pony left is comprised. Too big/heavy to be a true sports car yet small enough to not be usable as a regular car.

I’m biased though. I like tiny sports cars and big muscle cars and sedans.

I currently own:
2023 Challenger Hellcat M6
1999 Viper GTS
1995 Cadillac Fleetwood (LT1 engine)
1968 Deville Convertible
2023 Durango R/T family wagon
2003 Lincoln Town Car winter beater

I’ve had:
two C5 Corvettes (1 LS1 and 1 Z06)
1967 Galaxie 390 Convertible
1964 Biscayne dual quad 409
2005 CTSV
2009 CTSV Sedan
A bunch of LT1 Fleetwoods and Roadmasters
And a bunch of other boring stuff

I also had a 1996 Firebird Formula Convertible with the LT1. I loved that car at the time but the back seat and trunk were almost completely useless. I got the 2003 Z06 after it and I never looked back at pony cars. After I got my Viper I got an Auto LS1 Targa top Vette to go with it for the targa top and massive hatchback cargo space. Only way I’d have another pony car, personally, is if it had a solid axle for manual transmission drag racing. So either very old 60s/70s or a 2007-2014 GT500.

I’m aware I’m biased though. I just don’t like cars that try to do too much and end up not being great at anything in particular. To each their own though!

 

[DodgeFL]

I recall GM coming out with small 2 seat sports cars in 2006, Pontiac Solstic and Saturn Sky . Both flopped I think because GM only offered a 4 banger engine. YET, GM had blueprints for installing a V8 into the twins ! Those would have been dangerously fast and I think that's why GM canned the ideas ?
Chrysler had a similar fail with the Prowler only offering a 6 cylinder engine in it.

The message is clear, offer a V8 in sports car or fail ! Having ridden in a Viper I can only say WOW, but unfit for street usage with buyer crashing them in one car accidents on a regular basis.

 

[99GTS]

I recall GM coming out with small 2 seat sports cars in 2006, Pontiac Solstic and Saturn Sky . Both flopped I think because GM only offered a 4 banger engine. YET, GM had blueprints for installing a V8 into the twins ! Those would have been dangerously fast and I think that's why GM canned the ideas ?
Chrysler had a similar fail with the Prowler only offering a 6 cylinder engine in it.

The message is clear, offer a V8 in sports car or fail ! Having ridden in a Viper I can only say WOW, but unfit for street usage with buyer crashing them in one car accidents on a regular basis.

Yeah I’d probably have had or still have a Solstice if GM had put a V8 in them. Mallet Performance converted them to LS powered and made a fairly good number of them. Even some with the LS7. Definitely a close modern counterpart for the Cobra.

As for the Vipers, I’ve had mine for 8 years now, I drive it very hard and it’s one of the most controlled cars I’ve ever driven hands down. Their reputation for being hard to handle is completely unfounded in my opinion. Tires have come a very long way since 1999 (my GTS is a 99) though. So maybe they were unruly when new.

 

[Mopar426]

GM has been at war with themselves over NOT offering anything that can compete against corvette. The Fiero was supposed to pack a punch too but it also got neutered. That one Solstice with the hard top was a cool little rig, unfortunately they came out right when they went bankrupt.

 

[james.mooney.]

As much as I'd love to see a new Challenger or 'cuda, a new Viper, a new Neon two-door, and a new affordable small sports car like the 2007 Dodge Demon concept, I would not hold my breath for even one of them to make it to production.

Product planners at Dodge seem to think that there is barely room in the market for one coupe (as evidenced by the new Charger two-door sharing as much as possible with the four-door, unlike the Challenger which shared its platform but had its own unique smaller body), let alone four or five!

2007 Dodge Demon Concept:
View attachment 112_0704_08z-dodge_demon_concept-left_front_view.webp