2011 Dodge Challenger Facelift Scooped Undisguised!

Now here's a nice surprise for Dodge fans. A member of the Mopart forums has snagged some photos of what appears to be the facelifted 2011 Dodge Challenger in R/T trim without a single trace of camouflage. The cosmetic changes over the 2009/2010 muscle-coupe are extremely subtle and it will take a trained eye to spot the differences.

These include the reshaped lower intake up front (basically, the designers turned it upside down) and the elimination of the Ram nose emblem on the hood, plus a new set of door handles. It is possible that the 2011 Challengers could feature more changes on the outside and in particular the rear end as we don't have any other photos of the car.

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VIDEO: Dodge Mopar 10 Challenger Special in the Flesh

If one thing has come out of Fiat's involvement in the Chrysler Group the past year or so, that would be an abundance of limited edition models, the most recent being the "Mopar '10" Dodge Challenger. We've already shared details along with a single teaser sketch, but here's a video that shows the muscle-coupe (or at least parts of the car) in the flesh.

As a reminder, the 'Mopar 10' is based off the Challenger R/T with a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 featuring a series of cosmetic and performance upgrades. Only 500 examples will be built, with all of them coming in a black shade with blue, red or silver strips on the outside and matching accents inside.

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Dodge Announces Special Edition "Mopar '10" Challenger

Set to arrive in dealerships in August, the Mopar '10 Challenger is a special edition version of the muscle-coupe that will be built in a limited number of 500 examples. Based off a Challenger R/T with the 5.7-liter Hemi V8, the Mopar '10 edition gets numerous performance and styling parts straight out of Mopar's shelves.

The special edition Challenger will be available exclusively in Brilliant Black and a choice of three accent colors (Mopar Blue, Red or Silver) that appear on side stripes as well as in the stitching on the steering wheel and seats.

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Research Firms Says Chrysler May Build Lancia Thesis Replacement and Challenger-Based Alfa Romeo in Canada

After last week's [official] announcement that the Fiat Group will drop the Chrysler nameplate in Europe as its models will be rebadged integrated into the Lancia brand, a forecasting firm now says that the automaker will begin building Lancias and possibly Alfa Romeos at its Brampton plant in Canada beginning from 2012.

U.S.-based industry research company AutomotiveCompass said that Chrysler will produce a Lancia Thesis replacement based on the soon-to-revealed 2011 300 sedan, which will continue to make use of the previous generation Mercedes architecture .

Doug Shepard, forecasting manager for the research firm said that the Lancia version of the redesigned Chrysler 300 won't differ radically in appearance from the American sedan.

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Chevrolet Camaro Outsells Ford Mustang by Almost 20,000 Units at Year One, But Loses in May '10

Yesterday we learned that the refreshed and more powerful 2011 Ford Mustang sold 10,225 units in May 2010 beating GM's Chevrolet Camaro by almost 1,300 units (8,931 sales monthly total).

The General's reaction? Early this morning, the Detroit automaker came out with a press release stating that from May 2009 (the 2010 Camaro's first full month of sales) to May 2010, Chevy's pony car posted 99,872 total sales, outselling the Ford Mustang by nearly 20,000 vehicles (80,340 units total).

The company added that the Camaro has led the pony car sales race for 11 of the last 12 months.

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Dodge Challenger: 40 Years in Pictures

Challenger turns 40-ish this year. Well, actually, it's like a 40-year range over which the Challenger name was used a few times and to celebrate, Chrysler has given a photo-run-through of the model's rich history.

Over the course of its first generation, ranging from 1970-74, the Challenger was offered with an inline six-cylinder and many choices of V8. The 8-cylinder options ranged from a 318 cubic inch unit making 230 horsepower to the 425-horse 426 Hemi and 390-horse 440 (output numbers dipped consistently as the oil crisis developed).

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