Introduction

What's New – The 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 is the reincarnation of the brand's classic 1970s muscle car. Blessed with modern underpinnings, sexy style and 425 horsepower, it's poised to rock the socks off Mustangs and the new Chevrolet Camaro before it even debuts.

Why It Matters – This may be the last gasp for big V-8-powered cars like this, but oh, what a gasp it is. With modern handling, a secure chassis and plenty of power, the Challenger will let boomers and Gen Xers alike relive the pleasures of the 70s musclecar wars, but without the pain.

Dodge Challenger SRT8 – 2008 First Drive: Memory is a tricky thing. Over time, it fades and softens, and we as a species tend to forget the pain and remember the pleasure of life's experiences. It's like the childhood memory of your first baseball game: You remember the winning home run, waving your team's flag, maybe even catching a fly ball if you were lucky, but forget the nausea from too many ballpark hot dogs, not to mention the flaming sunburn.

It's with this same misty-eyed nostalgia that many look back to the 70s, and the end of the last great muscle car era. There were great cars then, to be sure, with names and shapes that endure today, and the fondness for this bygone era has driven the prices of these classic cars into high six digits in some cases. This despite the fact that, even by the standards of the day, the cars were often primitive to drive in anything but a straight line.

Regardless, the current Mustang's retro styling is based heavily on its early incarnation and sells strongly. Rivals Chevy and Dodge have taken notice, with Chevrolet bringing back a retro-styled Camaro and Dodge reintroducing the Challenger.

We won't see that Chevy for another few months, but the Challenger is here now, and we have driven it. Our conclusion after a day of driving on the highway, the mountains and even Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California: Dodge nailed it. The car has the look and personality of the classic, but the pain is gone. The bumpy ride is now smooth, the raucous interior is silent, and frankly, the ungainly proportions of the original are tidy and modern. Plus, there's 425 horsepower on tap in the SRT8, a modern independent suspension derived from Mercedes-Benz parts, a comfortable and spacious interior, and handling that even race versions of that old Challenger would have been hard pressed to duplicate. The original muscle car fans are now grown ups, and with the Challenger, so is the muscle car itself.