All That Glitters: Gold 2021 Dodge Challengers
Lo and behold, a year after the Dodge product planners cooked up the gold paint scheme for the 50th-anniversary limited edition of the Challenger, we have an encore. The metallic color will reappear on the 2021 Challenger T/A, T/A 392, SRT Hellcat, and SRT Hellcat Redeye.
“After The Gold Rush”, a tune from the seminal 1970 album of the same name by Neil Young, must’ve been on their minds when thinking of color symbolic of the time when the Challenger made its debut in the fall of 1969 as a 1970 model. There are a few provisos when going for the gold, namely that the SRTs must be equipped with the hand-painted Satin Black hood, roof, and decklid, an image that oddly enough reminded me of vinyl roofs being applied by hand at the Fisher Body Plant in Pontiac, Michigan.
According to Young’s lyrics, he dreamed of space ships flying in the yellow haze of the sun, with children crying and colors flying, all around the chosen ones. All in a dream, all in a dream, much like Hellcat-powered, 700-plus-horsepower SRT versions of every model across the lineup.
More horsepower than any other American brand is an offering few can conceptualize and even less can afford, which makes Dodge’s assertion all the more tantalizing. After all, if the Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock produces 807 horsepower, and the new Dodge Charger SRT Redeye’s 797 horses make it the baddest mass-produced sedan on the planet, then you’ll absolutely need the 710-horsepower Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, the most powerful SUV ever, to chauffeur the kids back to school when they return to class, right? It stands to reason that the SRT brand needed to round out their roster.
“By bringing back Gold Rush to a few of our 2021 Challenger models, we’re giving our enthusiasts yet another option to make their muscle car even more unique,” said Tim Kuniskis, Global Head of Alfa Romeo and Head of Passenger Cars – Dodge, SRT, Chrysler and FIAT, FCA – North America.
Good as gold, it symbolizes wealth and success, and as a limited edition color, in Dodge that signifies power.
[Images: FCA Group]
With a father who owned a dealership, I literally grew up in the business. After college, I worked for GM, Nissan and Mazda, writing articles for automotive enthusiast magazines as a side gig. I discovered you could make a living selling ad space at Four Wheeler magazine, before I moved on to selling TV for the National Hot Rod Association. After that, I started Roadhouse, a marketing, advertising and PR firm dedicated to the automotive, outdoor/apparel, and entertainment industries. Through the years, I continued writing, shooting, and editing. It keep things interesting.
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Back in olden times, the three auto colors to be avoided were gold, copper, and maroon. The first two couldn't take a shine, though clear coat has probably taken care of that. Silver shone just good enough with a good wax job to avoid the list. Avoidance of maroon was due to another screw up by GM in the 1960s, when their maroon paint was defective, and faded badly in the sun within a year or two. The color was popular, but GM's refusal to repaint or compensate owners put maroon into the 'avoid at all costs' category.
Loving this color. True nothing special about the 50th-anniversary edition. Guess it will be up to the owner to make it special.