Hemi

Chrysler pays the bills with big sellers like the Dodge Ram and Caravan, but when it comes to passion and excitement, the 2009 Dodge Challenger sits with the Viper atop the Pentastar throne. The new Dodge Challenger is retro done right, with the wide stance and long hood of the original mixed with the clean lines and aggressive dimensions of a modern pony car. For the 2008 model year, Chrysler introduced only the SRT version of the Challenger. The first production model sold for $400,000 at auction, and the entire stock of HEMI-packing, Mopar goodness was history faster than it takes to hit 125 mph on a barren back road.

Click the image above for more pics of the Challenger SRT8

Click above to view more high-res sketches of rejected Rams

Click above to view fanboy promo

The quintessential car chase may have been immortalized in movies like The French Connection and Bullitt, but there have been dozens of chase flicks with everything from Pontiac Trans Ams to Dodge Challengers as the star. The 1971 movie Vanishing Point served as a classic for Mopar faithful, as the film centers around a troubled car delivery guy trying to get a supercharged 1970 Challenger from Colorado to San Fransisco in 15 hours while the fuzz is on his tail.