Since the 2023 model year will soon be in full swing, Dodge has released pricing for its series of Last Call special edition muscle cars. None of them come cheap, but it’s eyebrow-raising to read that the most expensive versions of these special Mopars blaze into six-figure territory.
[Editor’s Note: This picture confused the hell out of me for way longer than I’m willing to admit. – JT]
Let’s start at the top of the Last Call special edition food chain, where Dodge wants $100,910 including a $1,595 freight charge for the Challenger Black Ghost. While the natty roof graphics and smattering of chrome certainly look sweet, that’s a lot of money for a Challenger. Then again, with 807 horsepower on tap, it’s the most powerful factory-produced Challenger this side of a Demon, so that has to count for something. Plus, it comes with a great backstory we wrote about earlier involving a 1970 Challenger RT/SE that would vanquish all comers on Woodward Avenue then disappear into the night.
Next down the list, it’s the Charger King Daytona at $100,015 including a $1,595 freight charge. That’s also very expensive, but orange is a very good color and this is technically the most powerful factory-produced street-legal Charger ever. While the original King Daytona may not be on the National Historic Vehicle Registrar like the original Black Ghost Challenger is, Big Willie Robinson is an absolute legend in the west coast scene, and this very fast four-door pays tribute to an icon.
In contrast, the Charger Swinger clocks in at a whole Mazda MX-5 cheaper than the Charger King Daytona, carrying a price tag of $71,285 including a $1,595 freight charge, or $69,690 (nice) before freight. There’s no way that pre-freight price isn’t intentional. While the 6.4-liter V8 should still offer plenty of shove and green and gold is a great color combination, track fans will want to grab the next Charger model on the list.
First though, the Challenger Shakedown. This euphemism for a test drive packs a shaker hood, some stripes, and little else. Granted, it’s still based on the Scat Pack model, so it’ll still get down. The widebody version clocks in at $69,085 and the standard body version lists for $65,185, both including freight.
Oh boy, things are about to get really good again. I’m talking about the Dodge Charger Super Bee. It’s got a 392, it’s got drag radials, it’s got four doors, it’s got a warranty. Bracket racers with families dream of stuff like this. The widebody version lists for $68,895, while the standard body version is priced at $63,400, both including a $1,595 freight charge.
Finally we get to the Challenger Swinger, listing for $67,785 including freight and only offered in widebody form. Like the Charger Swinger, it’s painted the same color as The Grinch and features some sharp gold accents.
Dealers selling these special edition models can be found online through a central Dodge-owned portal, an interesting move. In doing so, Dodge has shown its cards regarding the allocation process of new vehicles. See, dealer allocation is an often opaque process that operates of something between science and vibes. In the car business, there are cars allocated for hitting sales targets, cars allocated by discretion, and a thin, fuzzy line between the two. Here’s how Dodge is allocating these special models.
All of these special edition cars will go to the top 500 dealerships in Challenger and Charger sales. It doesn’t matter if a dealer moved thousands of Journeys and Grand Caravans over the past few years, if they didn’t move much muscle, they aren’t even considered. Furthermore, there are three tiers within this selection. The top 200 will receive 12 examples each, dealers 201 to 300 get 10 examples each, and the rest get six examples each. Add each and every example up, and you get a grand total of 4,590 Last Call special editions currently allocated to dealers.
If you want one of these special Last Call Mopars, here’s what you have to do in order to buy one. First, hop on the web and go to the Dodge Horsepower Locator. Once you punch in your zip code, you’ll be able to narrow down by special edition and find the nearest dealer to you with an allocation. Then, contact that dealer to reserve your car. If they’re sold out, just keep calling around.
While the Dodge Charger and Challenger definitely aren’t perfect, they’re about as much fun as doing sketchy things with roman candles. I’ll miss these dumb, lovable lumps of cars once they perform a two-tire salute into the sunset, and so will the city of Brampton where they’re built. From Canada, with love, please enjoy the absolute hell out of these things. Oh, and if you have deep pockets but miss this round of Mopar specials, don’t worry. Two more special editions are in the pipeline.
Lead photo credit: Dodge
Brampton has a reputation here in southern Ontario for having the absolute worst drivers. Just sayin….
Folks in my city lean hard into purple Challengers and lifted Rams and such so I hope someone springs for one of these! Thoroughly out of my price range but I love that it exists. We live in such drab and serious times, it’s nice to see a little exuberance.
I feel like these cars have a bigger than average share of assholes driving them. Kind of like decked out pickups. I guess something about the advertising must draw overly aggressive people as well as the normal part of the buying population. Anecdotal I know, but if I hear a V8 roar on the interstate and then have someone dangerously pass me or hear someone floor it and burn rubber at a stoplight 90% of the time it’s either a big truck or one of these. Rarely a Camaro, Mustang, BMW or Mercedes. Could be regional too, I suppose.
I’d go for a Roadrunner, but with the 6.4 Hemi and the cool Roadrunner style hood. As an old guy, I prefer a good Torqueflite tranny. They can go wild with color, as they have with the cars in the article. Good for Dodge to put out really interesting cars!
My dad is a MOPAR fanatic. I’m trying to get him to buy literally any of these to replace his 2016 Charger with it’s red-leather interior and “Beats by Dre” audio system. He literally got paid to buy that car as the dealer had one sitting on their floor for over a year, completely loaded, the bigger wheels, etc., but with the V6 (anyone in the market for something like that wants the hemi). So, he inquired about trading in his 2-year-old F-150 that he didn’t really care for at the time and dealer said “the best we can do is $1800”. He thought that sounded pretty good and then was a little shocked when he realized they were going to give him a check for $1800! The dealer sold that truck in less than a week, so everyone ended up happy.
At any rate, with what these last-call editions cost, my mom would probably make him go sleep in it every night if he did actually spend the coin on one.
It’s amazing how affordable these are with 96-month financing terms. Sure, the 17% APR is a bit of a kick in the mommy-daddy button, but who cares?
I don’t care what these cost. I salute you Dodge! Go out with a bang. When these cars are gone, there will be nothing left but CVT crossovers in your choice of light gray, medium gray, or slightly darker gray. To whomever buys these cars, do a burnout for me – do it for all of us.
What do you think the last 2 editions are?
I’m betting the SuperBird has to one of them, the other is probably the Road Runner.
I’m going with a Challenger ACR, with Speedkore carbon bits and Viper ACR aero kit on a Manual hellcat widebody. The other will probably be a Dom Toretto Charger with the Demon package running on corn juice.
Banshee – 1000 hp and maybe an AWD 800 HP Charger. Pursuit Special
I’m hoping for a Challenger T/A, available only with a manual with a pistol-grip shifter – and a Mod Top, available with a few different paisley/floral prints for the vinyl top, with matching seats.
Oh man – a Dodge Charger Hell-Demon Super-Daytona-Bird would be awesome! A two-door version of the Charger with a roll cage, the requisite extended aero-nose cone on the front and giant wing on the back, this time tall enough to need marker lights. 23 ft. from cone-tip to the back of that wing. Open header side-dump exhaust in “track” mode. The words “Banned” written in 2 foot high slanted letters down the side with a decal showing the classic cartoon Roadrunner holding a race helmet in one wing and giving the “bird” with the other. Price them around $150,000 each – they’d sell a few.
Considering the Jailbreak Redeye’s start at $90k these are actually priced correctly.
“It doesn’t matter if a dealer moved thousands of Journeys and Grand Caravans over the past few years, if they didn’t move much muscle, they aren’t even considered.”
This is actually quite a change. In a previous life, I worked at the market leader in wheelchair minivan conversions. To reliably source the thousands of FCA vans for the conversions (they converted other models too, but the Chryslers and Dodges were always the top sellers), they owned a CDJR dealer in the small town where they were headquartered that passed through the vans to the conversion company.
The vans never actually hit the lot, so it was a typical small-town dealer, except in one way. The on-paper only sales made this tiny dealership one of the top selling FCA dealers in the country, and entitled them to basically as many Hellcats as they wanted. It was always funny to drive past and see half a dozen of them on a lot with 30 vehicles total.
Meh. Seems like a cash grab to me…and when there are this many “special” Chargers and Challengers how special are they in the end? I feel like it’s the *Mr. Regular voice* “my Corvette best Corvette” effect. I absolutely see the appeal of these things…big burbling V8, rear wheel drive, and arguably the most BDE of anything us mortals can potentially afford.
But at the premiums you’d pay for these examples? Hard pass. At 65k or so I’d rather have a Camaro ZL1 or 718 over a Challenger and a secondhand M550i if I wanted a V8 sedan like the Charger. And at 100 there’s just no way in hell I’d choose any of these over a Z06 or a 911. That’s also full fat M5 money…and for some reason the M5 just butters my croissant.
I think these cars make a lot of sense secondhand in the high 30s/low 40s or new at around 50. They’re great performance bargains at those prices…and their aftermarket is friggin YUGE so you could pretty easily make yours quite unique. But then again my pal V10emous can probably explain and assess the appeal of these things much better than I can.
I agree these are starting to get Zonda syndrome, but they’re cool colors or gimmicks at least, as opposed to one-of-one cars in the worst color combo possible on the order form. That leopard print top is pretty cool.
That’s a throwback to the Gator Grain vinyl top available on the ’70-73 Challenger.
In this case I can’t, not any more than you already have. They have an appeal that’s pretty unlike anything else for sale, for good and bad.
Aside from emotional appeal, I like the cheap V8 power that these used to represent, and I’ll be sad when they’re gone, but I’ve never really been tempted to buy one myself. $100K for one is silly. That’s Blackwing money, which is a better car in every conceivable way.
Can’t wait to hear about your experience with the Blackwing. As I said…the odds of the CT4 V Blackwing being on my shopping list next round are pretty decent