Dodge Charger, Challenger go Plum Crazy

Demand for Dodge's wild new Charger and Challenger SRT Hellcat models may have exceeded supply by almost 1000 units, but that hasn't stopped the American muscle car brand announcing the return of its iconic Plum Crazy exterior paint for the 2016 model year.

In a move that may console customers whose MY15 Hellcat orders were cancelled due to overwhelming demand, the distinctive purple paint – which has been a signature Dodge muscle car colour since it first appeared in 1970 – will be available across the MY16 Charger sedan and Challenger coupe range.

They will be given first dibs when orders open in September, before regular dealer orders commence in October and production begins in November.

However, the Plum Crazy heritage hue, which is available for the Charger and Challenger for the first time since the historic Dodge nameplates returned to the US market in 2006 and 2008 respectively, will be limited in production and only available for order until the end of this year.

Plum Crazy versions of the MY16 Challenger 392 HEMI Scat Pack Shaker and Charger R/T Scat Pack will be shown for the first time at this Saturday's Woodward Dream Cruise in Michigan, where 30,000 custom, collector, street rod, special interest and muscle car vehicles will be displayed.

The Cadbury colour joins an array of bright paint colours already available for the Challenger and Charger, and is claimed to bring a high level of exclusivity and collectability. Dodge says limited-edition models and limited-production paint colours account for less than 11 per cent of the entire global production of Chargers and Challengers to date, which comprises nearly 1.5 million cars since 2006.

"For years, our Challenger and Charger owners have wanted to know just how unique their rides are, and the team at Dodge wants to further the collectability of these modern muscle machines with the actual production numbers," said Tim Kuniskis, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Dodge and SRT brands.

"From limited-edition models like the Mopar '10 and Challenger SRT8 Yellow Jacket, to limited-production Challenger and Charger models in high-impact paint colours such as Sublime, TorRed, Go ManGo and Green With Envy, we're excited to share our factory-backed production numbers to our current and future collectors and enthusiasts."

The purple paint will be available across both Dodge sedan and coupe model ranges, which include 228kW 3.6-litre V6, 280kW 5.7-litre V8, 362kW 6.4-litre V8 and 527kW 6.2-litre supercharged V8 engines – the latter reserved for SRT Hellcat models.

"Powerful muscle cars painted in impactful colours make Woodward Dream Cruise the perfect setting for Dodge to debut the newest generation Challenger and Charger models in Plum Crazy,"

"And with our strongest muscle car arsenal ever, we knew it was time to reach into our Dodge paint code archive and offer our high-performance R/T Scat Pack and SRT Hellcat models in one of the most iconic exterior colours of all time."

Dodge introduced the ballistic new 527kW/880Nm Hellcat versions of the Charger and Challenger flagships for the 2015 model year earlier this year, and says it will more than double production of MY16 versions, which will bring upgrades including an 8.4-inch Uconnect infotainment with satellite navigation as standard.

Both top-shelf Charger and Challenger Hellcat models, which are claimed to be the most powerful US muscle cars ever produced, are under consideration for Australia, where they would be badged as the Charger sedan and coupe respectively because Mitsubishi owns the rights to the Challenger name.

As we've reported, however, strong US demand and the diminishing value of the Australian dollar have all but scuttled the business case for right-hand drive production of both Hellcat models, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Australia is now focussing on securing their all-new replacements due in 2018.