Nostalgia sells. When it comes to selling something, whatever that something may be, it’s often beneficial if it evokes positive memories. This might be the reason why Dodge has managed to sell Challengers and Chargers for over 15 years without making too many improvements. Design-wise, the Challenger looks pretty much identical to when it launched in 2008, and the Charger looks fairly similar as well. When they were introduced, it was the return of the big, powerful RWD American sedan, but unfortunately, sedans, especially ones with big engines, are disappearing, and this is the case for the Dodge duo. It was announced that 2023 would be the last year of production for both cars with gas-powered engines, and for the occasion, seven celebratory limited “Last Call” models were introduced, all bringing back old-school names and features. I’ve had the chance to spend time with the 2023 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack Swinger and the 2023 Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack Super Bee, and this is what I thought of them.
2023 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack Swinger
Let’s start with the obvious, no there aren’t any upside-down pineapples on it. Swinger is a name that was first seen on the fourth generation Dodge Dart, but Dodge decided to honour the iconic name by using it for the third and fourth Last Call models, Charger and Challenger each counting as their own distinct models. The Challenger Swinger is available in three colours, while the one I drove was finished in the “hero” colour, F8 Green; Sublime Green and White Knuckles are also available. No matter which one you chose, the car features unique Green Swinger rear fender graphics and 20-by-11-inch wheels painted in a light gold shade that Dodge refers to as “Gold School.” That same very cool finish is used on a plethora of other things outside of the Challenger Swinger, including the Shaker intake, the Challenger grille badge, and the Scat Pack + Bee spoiler badge. Other distinctive features include Black six-piston Brembo brakes, Mod Grain wood-like aluminum interior bezel textures, Nappa/Alcantara seats with green stitching and green Dodge Rhombi logo, Green Swinger interior instrument panel badge, and Green interior accent stitching on console and doors. Every Last Call model features a plaque in the engine bay confirming that the car really is one of the very last to be equipped with a V8. The Challenger Swinger is limited to 1,000 units and they’re all based on the Challenger R/T Scat Pack Widebody with both the Plus Group and the Shaker Package. While only the 6.4L HEMI SRT V8 is available, both an 8-speed automatic transmission and a 6-speed Tremec manual transmission are available. Thankfully, the car I had was equipped with the latter. Simply put, it’s terrific. Even though the design hasn’t changed in a long time, it’s still one of the coolest, meanest-looking cars on the market, especially when equipped with the widebody. It’s obnoxious, loud, massive, and I love it.
It was my first time driving a modern Dodge equipped with a manual transmission and I really enjoyed it. The clutch had just the right amount of heaviness and I liked the angle of the shifter, very old-school. Being a Scat Pack, the Swinger is equipped with the 6.4L HEMI SRT V8 in its naturally aspirated form, delivering 485 hp and 475 lb‑ft of torque. The power delivery was instant, pushed me back in my seat in every gear, and the car sounded incredible. I had as much fun cruising around as I did going through the gears, turning heads, and rattling eardrums. To be honest, it might have been more mental than anything, but it didn’t bring me much confidence in curves, it was fantastic everywhere else. Even with the traction control on, it’s very easy to get it sideways if you don’t know what you’re doing, so that’s definitely something to be careful about. Sure it’s powerful and loud, but it’s also very comfortable. I drove it for hours without ever wanting to exit it, except to put gas, which was quite often, but it’s expected with a car like this.
The design is fantastic, and so is the drivetrain, but it’s far from perfect. Sitting inside, you can tell you’re sitting in a car that had its latest facelift in 2015. Firstly, it just looks old, after a quick search on Google, you’ll quickly find out that the interior is identical to when it was facelifted in 2015, even the infotainment screen is the exact same size. The total price for the exact car I was driving was around $84,000 and not only the interior design was disappointing, but the materials were even worse. Hard plastics are literally everywhere, and almost everything you can see and touch feels cheap, the seats being an exception. The infotainment system works well, it’s responsive and easy to use, I especially enjoyed the SRT mode which allows you to play with a bunch of things you probably shouldn’t mess with on public roads. Not as good is the rear view camera, the quality of the image is subpar and there is only one angle. The screen itself seems to be the same one that was in the 2015 model, same for the cluster screen, which is very small and doesn’t allow to do much. For the price paid, the technology, or lack thereof, is also a letdown, with no adaptive cruise control, no heads-up display, and no automatic wipers either.
In conclusion, the Challenger Swinger is thrilling, rare, looks incredible, and is powered by a great engine, but the money you’re spending goes there and that’s pretty much it. Funny enough, I think the buyers know this and don’t care. Every time Dodge has updated the Challenger and made it more expensive, it only made it more powerful, with cool special editions here and there. It never paid attention to the interior or the technology, and it’s because the people buying these cars never asked for that. For almost $85,000, I would expect these things, but I understand why Dodge never bothered to do it.
2023 Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack Super Bee
Super Bee might just be one of the better-known names in Dodge’s history. It first appeared in 1968 as a high-performance version of the Coronet. In 1971, the Super Bee name was moved to the Charger line-up where it was promoted as the low-price model. It was then offered from 1970 to 1980 in Mexico only and was only offered in Canada in 2007 where it was only offered for a few years as a limited edition. Dodge redesigned the Charger for the 2011 model year and reintroduced the Super Bee in 2012. The 2023 Charger Super Bee is the second Last Call model and contrary to the Swinger, is only offered on the Charger platform. Just like the Challenger Swinger, the Charger Super Bee will only be produced 1,000 times with the production being split in half between two different models. The first one is the coolest, it’s the widebody model painted in Plum Crazy with white Super Bee graphics and equipped with 18-by-11-inch drag wheels with 315 drag radials. The second one is the model I had the chance to review, it’s the standard-body Charger painted in B5 Blue with blue Super Bee graphics and equipped with 20-by-9.5-inch knurled wheels with 275 drag radials. Other distinctive features include Super Bee exterior badging on the grille and front fenders, adaptive damping suspension with Drag Mode, Black Mopar hood pin kit, SRT hood with functional scoop and dual heat extractors, red four-piston Brembo brake system, Super Bee interior instrument panel badge, and Super Bee seatback logos. Just like the Challenger Swinger, the Charger Super Bee is based on the R/T Scat Pack model and features both the Plus Group and the Carbon/Suede Package. The naturally-aspirated 6.4L HEMI SRT V8 is the only available engine and contrary to the Challenger, the Super Bee is only offered with the eight-speed automatic transmission, which is a bit of a shame but it did allow me to try both. Just like the Challenger, the Charger Super Bee is everything I wanted it to be, loud, not only by its sound but also by its overall presentation.
After driving the Challenger, I was expecting a very similar experience with the Charger, and despite being extremely similar, they do have some differences. Starting with the similarities, the Super Bee is powered by the same N/A 6.4L HEMI SRT V8, delivering 485 hp and 475 lb‑ft of torque. Just like the Swinger, the power is instant and thanks to the automatic transmission, it’s way easier to get the car going, just have to press on the gas, and you’re gone. Other things that both car share is the glorious V8 sound and the slightly less glorious gas consumption. Comfort is one of its best qualities and since it has two extra doors, the Charger benefits from actual rear seats where adults can sit. Unfortunately, that also means there now can be up to five people to see and feel the cheap, old interior. Just like the Challenger, the Charger’s interior hasn’t been redesigned in years, but in this case, it’s since 2011! 12 years and the interior has barely changed. They added a new steering wheel and shifter in 2015 and that’s how it’s been ever since. Again, the interior is probably the biggest downside of the car, but no one seems to care, including the buyers, so why should I? When you have a car that looks the way this looks and moves the way this moves, the quality of the plastics doesn’t really matter, and I get that. Despite being cheaper by around a thousand dollars, the Charger came equipped with adaptive cruise control, which was a great surprise. The rest of the tech is pretty much the same thing, including the cluster screen and the quality of the rearview camera.
Some differences between the two include the drag stuff. The Super Bee features drag-spec tires which offer an impressive level of grip when accelerating from a dead stop. It is also equipped with an exclusive adaptive damping suspension with Drag Mode which I didn’t get the chance to try out. Despite the tires, I felt more comfortable taking curves in the Charger, it felt more agile to me than the Challenger, but again, that might be just me. Since these Last Call models are very much nostalgia-driven, the Super Bee is equipped with a set of hood pins and like, sure they look cool, but they’re more annoying than anything because they don’t replace a step to open the hood, they add a third one. But yes, they do look cool. My conclusion is the same as the Swinger, the Super Bee is a wicked retro-looking car that offers a powerful engine with a great design, it also happens to be fun to drive and very loud. Both cars are sure to become collectible in the future, and if you need interior parts in the future, you’ll be happy to learn you can use pretty much anything from any Charger and Challenger, 2015 and up!
Funny story with the Charger, I had it at the same time as an annual car show in a park near my dad’s, and it comprises about 98% classic cars, but they also let some modern muscle cars in as well. 2023 was the third edition of that show and both past years I had gone with my classic car, but this year, my ride was the 2023 Charger Super Bee. It got way more attention than I would have expected and I stopped counting the people who asked me if the hood pins were factory or not. Everyone was looking at the Charger and I felt like the king of the world talking about how rare and special these Last Call models are… that was until a White Knuckle Challenger Swinger arrived and parked 3 cars over—oh well.
Vehicle provided by Dodge Canada
Photography by Olivier Lessard