Alan Barrington was the principal interior designer for the Dodge Challenger Concept, and as with the exterior, he says the goal for the cabin was to capture the memory of the original model, but express it through contemporary materials, textures, and surfaces. Thus, the interior is no-nonsense black, with satin silver accents and thin orange bands on the seat backrests. Unlike the old-school Challenger, which came equipped with board-flat seats good for nothing but traveling in a straight line, this Challenger Concept gets SRT-style seating, properly bolstered to hold you still in corners. They are, however, pleated with 1970s-style ribs for a proper retro look and feel.

The Dodge Challenger Concept’s instrument panel sits high like the original car, and a trapezoidal gauge cluster houses three analog gauges and a computerized telemetry display. The analog gauges include a speedometer, a tachometer, and a multi-function gauge showing engine temperature, oil pressure, voltage, and fuel level. The telemetry display is obviously an outgrowth of video games, and relays information about top speed, quarter-mile time and speed, and top speed for each gear. Barrington says he wanted the gauge cluster to resemble the look of cylinders when viewed from above with the engine head removed. I thought they looked like gauges.

Other interior details made me instantly remember the original Challenger. For example, the steering wheel is designed to look like original car’s three-spoke “Tuff” wheel, including the dust-trapping ribbed steering column. However, the concept car’s wheel, unlike the original’s, has modern, integrated cruise control switches. The floor console is angled toward the driver like the original Challenger, and is equipped with a pistol-grip shifter that feels good in the hand. But this is a six-between-the-seats, not a four-on-the-floor, another reminder that the Challenger Concept’s hardware is high-tech, not yester-tech.

Here’s a trivia question: Did you know that the 1970 Dodge Challenger was the first car to get injection-molded door trim panels, which is now a common manufacturing practice? The Challenger Concept is no different, and the doors have a coved armrest decorated with silver trim and equipped with four power window switches on the driver’s side. Silver trim also highlights the stylish center panel on the dashboard, where the integrated stereo and climate controls are located. Under those two commonly used features, a row of toggle switches for the seat heaters, fog lights, hazard flasher, and stability control system are recessed forward of the shifter. Of course, all this stuff is theoretical, just for show. But if the Challenger ever makes production, these features are certain to be included.

I asked Barrington if he had considered installing an eight-track tape player in the Challenger Concept to, y’know, make the car “period correct.” He clearly wondered what kind of goofball he was dealing with.