For one, customers will finally be able to order a Dodge Challenger convertible. It’s been a while since you’ve been able to buy a convertible version of the Ford Mustang or Chevrolet Camaro straight off the lot. Now, after 14 years on the market, the Challenger, considered a competitor to these two “horse cars”, will finally be available as a convertible that you can order directly from the dealer.
Both the Challenger and Charger are being phased out after the next model year as Dodge prepares to sell electric cars in the future.
Until now, if you wanted a Dodge Challenge convertible, you had to find a custom shop to do the work of removing the roof and additional work on the car’s body and frame. Now, Dodge is speeding up the process. Dodge Challengers still won’t be built as convertibles at the Ontario, Canada factory where the cars are made, along with Chargers and Chrysler 300 sedans. Instead, Dodge has contracted with a custom shop in Florida cars called Drop Top Customs to convert rigid coupes into convertibles.
Despite its similarities to the Mustang and Camaro, the Challenger is a larger and heavier car. It’s about 10 inches longer than a Ford Mustang. The Challenger shares much of its basic engineering with the Charger and Chrysler 300 four-door sedans.
Converting a hardtop into a convertible involves a lot more than just cutting the roof off. In most modern cars, the roof provides some of the structural rigidity that prevents the vehicle body from flexing and bending over bumps and during turns. When the roof is removed, additional reinforcement must be provided to the rest of the body to prevent this unwanted twisting. Jeff Moran of Drop Top Customs said the company has been working with Dodge to make convertibles since 2008, but the new dealer ordering process streamlines purchasing. The company can make up to 5,000 convertibles each year, Moran said.
These convertibles won’t be cheap. The suggested price for the conversion job is around $26,000. Prices for a base model Dodge Challenger coupe with a V6 engine start around $30,000. V8-powered Challengers start at about $38,000. That means even the least expensive Challenger convertible will cost about as much as a Mercedes-Benz C-Class convertible or $20,000 more than a Ford Mustang convertible that, comparing base models, makes similar power. For the extra money, however, the Challenger buyer will get a car that is, at least, a much less common sight on the road.
In addition to the convertibles, Dodge will also offer a series of special edition “Last Call” Charger and Challenger models. Details of these cars will be revealed later. In addition, Dodge will bring back the 710-horse Durango Hellcat high-performance SUV that had been offered for the 2021 model year, but which Dodge had said would not be offered again after that.
Dodge, along with Chrysler and Jeep, is one of 14 car brands operated by Stellantis, the company that was formed when Fiat Chrysler Automobiles merged with France’s PSA in 2021.