SEMA Preshow: 2011 RedLine Dodge Charger Loves Carbon Fiber

Not to be outdone by Ford and General Motors, the Chrysler Group is readying a parade of specially tuned vehicles for this year's edition of the SEMA Show, which takes place in Las Vegas from November 2 to 5. One of the firm's star attractions will be the RedLine Dodge Charger based on the redesigned 2011 model year version of the saloon.

"We let the designers of the production car and their friends at Mopar rip," said Ralph Gilles, CEO of Dodge Car Brand and Senior Vice President of Product Design. "I wanted them to show us what they would do with this vehicle if it were their own dream car."

Hiding under the RedLine Charger's unique aluminum hood is a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 enhanced with a variety of Mopar parts including new headers, an exhaust system and a cold-air intake. Dodge said these upgrades provide horsepower and torque gains, but did not release any numbers.

The Charger concept also gets a retuned suspension that brings the car one inch [25 mm] closer to the ground, a Mopar strut tower brace, and 22-inch alloy wheels wrapped around in chunky tires size 265/35/22 at the front, and 295/30/22 at the rear.

On the outside, the designers dipped the Charger into carbon fiber as the material is found on most parts of the new bodykit, the rooftop, hood, exterior mirrors and the new side scoops that are said to recall the 1970 Dodge Charger R/T.

We don't have any images of the cabin, but Dodge said the sported-up sedan gets a red-and-black interior with Mopar Katzkin performance seats trimmed in Radar Red Nappa leather with bright red stitching, all-aluminum driver and console bezels and a unique SRT steering wheel featuring prototype paddle shift controls.

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Pentastar V6 to Find its Way Into 13 Models Across the Chrysler Group Range, Including 2011 Challenger

The Chrysler Group's new Pentastar V6 gasoline engine will either replace current six-cylinder units or be introduced for the first time on a total of 13 vehicles across the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep range by 2013, the company announced this week.

The 3.6-liter V6 unit will be offered with different levels of output, the most powerful [for now] iteration being the one fitted on the upcoming 2011 Dodge Challenger, which will be rated at 305 bhp at 6,350 rpm and 268 lb.ft. at 4,800 rpm, representing a 55 horsepower increase over the previous 3.5-liter V6.

On the new Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Pentastar V6 produces 290HP, while on the forthcoming 2011 Dodge Avenger, and Chrysler 200 sedan and Town & Country minivan, it will deliver 283HP. The soon-to-be-launched 2011 Dodge Charger will feature a 292-horsepower variant of the 3.6-liter V6. Other models to get the Pentastar V6 include the new Dodge Durango and Journey.

According to Chrysler, the new Pentastar V6 is not only more and fuel efficient than the six-cylinder engines it replaces, but is also significantly lighter. For example, the new 3.6L V6 is 94 lbs. lighter than the 3.7-liter engine it replaced in Jeep Grand Cherokee and 42 lbs. less than the 3.5-liter it replaces on the Chrysler 300.

"The Pentastar engine is suited to meet the requirements for a full range of vehicle applications in terms of power and fuel efficiency (average savings up to 7 percent across the model range) including passenger cars, mini-vans and sport utilities," said Bob Lee, vice president of engine engineering for Chrysler Group LLC.

"It has been designed for today and many years to come. Already, we are looking forward to adapting future technologies as they become available to the Pentastar V-6 for even more fuel efficiency and performance."

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Chrysler and Dodge to Recall More than 26,000 Vehicles in the U.S.

A new recall announced by the Chrysler Group will affect 26,397 owners of Chrysler and Dodge brand vehicles in the USA. The recall includes certain 2010MY Chrysler 300 and Sebring, and Dodge Charger, Avenger, Challenger and Journey, and some 2011MY Ram pickup trucks, because a power steering pressure hose may leak fluid onto a hot engine and cause a fire.

The U.S. automaker told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that dealers will inspect and replace if necessary the power steering pressure hoses free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin before the end of the October 2010.

Owners may contact Chrysler for more information regarding the recall at 1-800-853-1403.

According to reports, 13,000 vehicles are also being recalled outside the U.S. for the same problem.

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Vin Diesel's 1970 Dodge Charger RT from Fast & Furious Movie Up For Sale

The Volo Auto Museum in Illinois has put up for sale this matte gray 1970 Dodge Charger RT, which it claims was one of the cars driven by Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto in the 2009 Fast and Furious movie. The muscle car has all the expected custom touches like a sports steering wheel, stripped and customized interior and massive bonnet scoop.

There isn't much information on the dealer's site, other than the fact it's an automatic V8 and that the appraised value is US$200,000. That's rather high, given that Hemmings values a 1970 Dodge Charger RT around the US$28,995 to $74,900 mark. Then again, those vehicles didn't make it to Hollywood.

Fortunately, this one is selling for the low, low price of $129,998, or about $55k over a pristine non-movie car for the privilege of owning a vehicle that may or may not have had its seats caressed by Vin Diesel's tushie.

Link: Volo

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Dodge Teases 2011 Charger's Interior

We've already showed you exterior photos of the 2011 Charger, but now Dodge has released the first official [for the scoop, click here] image of the redesigned sedan's interior. As you can see, there's a newly styled, three-spoke steering wheel with the revised Dodge emblem adorning the center, while the door panels and the dashboard are also new. Fresh design aside, Dodge also promises higher quality materials plus improved fit and finish.

You can check out the full gallery and read more about the 2011 Dodge Charger, which should hit dealer lots by the end of this year, in our previous article.

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