2009 Dodge Challenger R/T and 2009 Dodge Challenger SE

Hot Wheels made a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T model. It seemed large and kind of blocky next to Mattel's Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro. The real Challenger was a conveyance for the emerging decade that transformed the ponycar into a musclecar, sharing its platform with the smaller Plymouth Barracuda, not with any compact sedan.

A modern musclecar, the 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T has 6.4 inches more wheelbase and six inches more overall length than the 1970, making it full-size by almost any measure. Because it shares the Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger's tall firewall, the Challenger is longer than those two sedans, despite a four-inch cut in its wheelbase. The Challenger had to be long to maintain its elegant, retro-futuristic proportions, right down to its long overbite/underbite grille and serious blind-spot C-pillars. If you're one of the purists who complained the Charger shouldn't have four doors, your coupe has arrived.

Reasonable purists will like the optional Tremec T6060 six-speed manual, adapted from the Viper, but with light, smooth clutch-pedal action. The six-speed is available on the R/T and SRT only; the V-6 SE comes with a four-speed automatic. The manual has triple-cone synchros in first and second, double-cones in the remaining gears. It's a satisfying gearbox, worth selecting over the automatic (five-speed in SRTs and R/Ts) just for its modern, ergonomic take on the original's pistol-grip shifter.

Being a coupe, the Challenger's shocks and springs befit its sportier intentions. Being 39 years newer than the original, it has a more sophisticated suspension, better NVH, "plus a couple of gears and a pair of new Hemis," says product chief Larry Lyons. "Like me, it's gained a few pounds."

You're familiar with the SRT and its 6.1-liter Hemi, rated 425 horsepower and 425 pound-feet. The R/T's 5.7-liter V-8 is rated 370 horsepower and 398 pound-feet with the five-speed automatic, 375 horsepower and 404 pound-feet when equipped with the stick and fueled with recommended premium. City economy drops 1 mpg with the stick, but the manual-unique exhaust system optimizes backpressure, composing an especially burbly soundtrack, particularly for the 1-2 upshift.

The R/T forgoes the SRT's high-backs in favor of low-back buckets. The popular equipment package gets you such SRT standards as leather interior, Boston Acoustics six-speaker, 276-watt amp, satellite radio, heated front seats and Keyless Go. A "Classic R/T" package adds functional hood scoop, Challenger script badge, body-side stripe, and 20-inch wheels (up from 18s). The R/T shares two color options with the SRT, Hemi Orange and, available "later," B5 Blue. R/Ts get body-colored rear lip spoilers; SRTs have black spoilers.