Perennially stuck in third place behind the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro in sales and enthusiast comparisons, the Dodge Challenger is doing something unconventional for a muscle couple. It's adding all-wheel drive. Back in 2015, Dodge brought an all-wheel drive Challenger to SEMA. Apparently, the automaker must have lost the technical drawings or something, because it took the company upward of a year to bring it to production.
The 2017 Dodge Challenger GT touts itself as the first two-door American muscle car to sport all-wheel drive. The Challenger GT is more than just an extra set of driven wheels. Your hard-earned money also gets you fog lamps, rear parking sensors, a backup camera, Nappa leather seating, heated and ventilated front seats, a six-speaker audio system. Also standard is the Uconnect infotainment system on an 8.4-inch screen, and it packs both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The GT also includes the Super Track Pak button, which lets you fiddle with features like launch control and a whole bunch of information like G-forces, 0-60 times and lap times. If you want to get even fancier, there's a $995 GT Interior Package. That adds performance seats with both Nappa leather and Alcantara suede, a nine-speaker Alpine audio system with a subwoofer and Dodge's performance steering wheel.
The Challenger GT comes with the Pentastar 3.6-liter V6 rated at 305 horsepower and 268 pound-feet of torque. It teams with an eight-speed TorqueFlight automatic transmission and is estimated to get 18 miles per gallon in the city and 27 mpg on the highway. An FCA spokesperson said no manual transmission or V8 models will be offered on the all-wheel-drive Challenger. It will be on display in January at the Detroit auto show. The 2017 Dodge Challenger GT will go on sale in the first quarter of 2017, just in time for the snow to melt. Its starting price is set at $33,395, which represents a $6,400 premium over the base Challenger SXT.
