Dodge honors classic Detroit muscle car with Black Ghost edition, plans to end V8 series

It's goodbye to a familiar rumbling sound. Dodge is saying farewell to the V8 muscle car.

High-powered V8s have served the brand well in recent years, but they're sending them away with a Last Call series.

Including the very limited edition Challenger Hellcat Black Ghost. Cool looking car, and that is a cool name, but it didn't come out of the blue. This is actually a tribute to an earlier Dodge that went by that same nickname.

The first one called Black Ghost, a 1970 Dodge Challenger RT/SE, prowled the streets of Detroit five decades ago, supposedly looking for stoplight racing action. And it was well equipped for the task, with the legendary 426 Hemi under the hood, and pretty much every other option.

The car was added to the National Historic Vehicle Register a few years ago, and the family of the original owner - an African American Detroit police officer named Godfrey Qualls - recently auctioned it off. The winning bidder paid over $1,000,000 to be the next caretaker.

Dodge's stylists did a nice job recreating the look of that 1970 Black Ghost on the 2023 Black Ghost. Black paint, of course, with the signature white stripe around the tail. Everywhere you look, little details that mimic the earlier one, including an interesting roof treatment. The vintage car has a vinyl covering called "gator grain" (basically faux alligator skin), and it's been replicated in 2023 with a vinyl decal.

Under the hood, an incredible 807 supercharged horsepower, which tops the old 1960s Hemi V8 by a wide margin. Peak muscle car, round two. But just like those original muscle cars that went away after their time, this generation is bowing out as well after a pretty good run. The modern Dodge Challenger first went on sale in the 2009 model year, making a splashy return after a very long absence.

And the special 2023 Black Ghost is pricey, with an MSRP of $99,315 before destination charge. A lofty amount that could go higher if buyers start getting into bidding wars at dealerships. In this final model year, there are other V8 Challengers available with sticker prices that start at under $45,000.

The Black Ghost's predecessor was known to appear in the darkness on the streets of Detroit, and then disappear. With its sinister looks and details, it's easy to picture this new one doing its own disappearing act. Would anyone actually street race a rare six-figure Challenger? That's doubtful, but its coolness will probably just speak for itself, whether it comes out at night to play or not.

The Black Ghost is the penultimate in this Last Call series from Dodge. They're only making 300 of them, and when they're gone, they're gone. The end of an era.