The Dodge Challenger Black Ghost Last Call Edition is a proper homage to the legend that inspired it, and a proper finale to the muscle car era.
It’s the End of the Line for This Old School Muscle Car
Nearly 20 years ago, Dodge brought its legends back to life:
the Charger and the Challenger. Unlike the Chargers of the muscle car era, this Charger has been a four-door family sedan with various engines powering the rear wheels or, if so equipped, all four (yes, this sedan has AWD for capability in snow!).
Meanwhile, the current Challenger was its two-door retro-modern companion, its early Seventies’ styling cues reforged for a new millennium. Little did anyone know that these models would kickstart Dodge’s latest incarnation as a high-performance, all-muscle brand, where the horsepower increased to ludicrous levels the old guard could only dream of.
Nearly 20 years later, the madness ends. The push for electrification from not only within Stellantis but from various governments around the world is
ringing the bell on gas- and diesel-fueled machines, including the high-performance beasts Dodge continues to build to this day. Dodge already has an electric car ready to carry the torch into the next era of performance, but not much is known about what else will.
Either way, Dodge is giving the Challenger, the Charger, and the muscle car era a final, proper send-off with seven Last Call Edition models. Each represents a piece of Dodge’s place in muscle car history and each is a collector’s item, numbered, named and built in limited production.
The next to last to be introduced, 6th of the 7, is the 2023 Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody Redeye Black Ghost Last Call Edition, which I’ll just refer to as the Black Ghost. It may not draw too many glances at first, but considering what this machine pays tribute to, that’s part of the charm.
Here and Gone Like a Thief in the Night
The Black Ghost takes its name from one given to a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T SE purchased by one Godfrey Qualls, a Detroit motorcycle cop who once served in the United States Army as a paratrooper. The Challenger was special-ordered and purchased new in 1969, equipped with
the R/T SE package that was available that year only and which placed the SE’s black vinyl roof – in this case, an alligator print roof – on the R/T body.
Under the long black hood lay a 426 cubic-inch Hemi V8 with a four-barrel carburetor, linked to the rear Goodyear Polyglas tires via a four-speed manual transmission.