Remember what the design team identified as one of the top five attributes of a modern muscle car? Horsepower, and lots of it. That’s why the 6.1-liter Hemi V8 from the SRT family is installed under the Dodge Challenger Concept’s carbon-fiber hood, making 425 galloping ponies at 6,000 rpm and 420 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,800 rpm. If that doesn’t impress you now that Ford claims a 500-horsepower rating for its new Shelby Cobra GT500, rest assured that Chrysler won’t let the Challenger come to market without a competitive engine. I mean, that would wreak havoc on the business case, wouldn’t it?

A six-speed manual transmission sends the power to the rear wheels, making this the only car on the planet – that we know of – equipped with a 6.1-liter Hemi and a manual. No wonder it’s worth a cool mil, eh? A four-wheel short- and long-arm independent suspension keeps the wheels on the ground, wheels that wear P225/40R20 rubber up front and P265/45R21 treads in back.

If the dummy toggle switch on the dashboard is any indication, a production version of the Challenger would be equipped with electronic stability control that could be defeated for smoky burnouts. We would also expect four-wheel-disc brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and some kind of brake assist technology.

After our driving and filming was complete, I interviewed Sam Locricchio (lo-creek-ee-o), whose title is ridiculously long so I’ll refer to him as “head PR dude.” I asked Locricchio what the next cool concept car from Chrysler might be, especially now that fuel economy and gas prices are at the top of every consumer’s mind. Might we see a thrifty Dodge Omni, or maybe a spiffy Shadow America next? He clearly wondered what kind of imbecile he was dealing with.