The sixth of Dodge’s seven ‘Last Call’ V8 tribute cars is this, the Challenger Black Ghost.
The muscle car (as we know it) is dying. Admittedly, that feels like a sentence that people have been throwing around for many years, but now, it’s finally coming true.
Dodge, for instance, has recently announced that both of its V8 Challenger and Charger models will be phased out at the end of 2023 to make way for new electrified successors. However, keen for this not to be a sombre affair, the Detroit brand is releasing seven ‘last call’ editions of the two cars. Up to this point, five have already been unveiled, and the sixth one is this: the Challenger Black Ghost.
Not only a tribute to the current iteration of Challenger, the Black Ghost is also an homage to an urban legend from the 1970s.
Back then, a man by the name of Godfrey Qualls was a police officer by day, but at night, he and his black Dodge Challenger R/T would run riot amidst the Detroit street racing scene. Naturally, given his day job, Qualls had to keep an ultra-low profile, and so the ‘Black Ghost’ nickname was born.
Sadly, Qualls passed away in 2015, but now seven years later both he and his car are to be honored by Dodge as part of the V8 Challenger’s own farewell.
As the name suggests, the Black Ghost will share the same dark color scheme as Qualls’ car, though a white rear graphic and chrome wheels are set to provide it with some welcome contrast. Unusually, the roof is lined with a faux alligator skin effect, though this is said to reflect the vinyl found on the original urban legend. The Black Ghost’s interior, meanwhile, is made special by exclusive carbon fiber furnishings and a unique instrument display.
This isn’t just a styling package though. Nope, the Black Ghost is for the most part a modified version of the insane Hellcat Redeye – a car which has a 6.2-litre Hemi as standard. In the Black Ghost, however, the V8’s output is cranked up a notch to 807hp. In other words, it’s got plenty of punch.
Only 300 will be built, and although pricing hasn’t been confirmed, they certainly won’t come cheap. So, if you’re looking for a special edition Dodge that won’t bruise your bank balance quite so much, have a look at these Mopars instead.
