For a lot of people of a certain age, nothing says “cool” like a muscle car. Chrysler is hanging its fortune on baby boomer nostalgia for the super high performance cars from the sixties and early seventies with the launch of the 2009 Dodge Challenger.

This isn't Chrysler's first foray into the retro muscle car market. The auto maker made a splash with muscle car fans with the 2006 introduction of the redesigned Dodge Charger. Despite the success of the Charger not everyone was happy with some of Chrylser's design decisions. Some muscle car enthusiasts cried foul at the Chargers four door design.

The new Dodge Challenger doesn't just wink at the original muscle car design. The new body style is an almost exact replica of the first Challenger to roll off the assembly line in 1970. Granted, the 2009 Challenger has smoother, more modern lines and looks slightly more polished, but it hasn't lost the aggressive wide body of the original. Despite the smooth lines, it is still instantly recognizable as a Dodge Challenger.

Chrysler didn't wimp out on the Challenger's power, either. Baby boomers that remember the Challenger's speed and high performance won't be disappointed with the 6.1 liter, 425 horsepower V8 Hemi that will go from 0 to 60 mph in under five seconds. The only other car with those kids of performance specs is the Audi R8, and it sells for $130,000, almost three times what the Dodge Challenger will sell for when it hits dealerships in late 2008.

Chrysler has turned the release of the resurrected Challenger into something of a philanthropic event that will both raise money for selected children's charities and raise the profile of the new Challenger. The first Challenger has been auctioned for the price of $400,000. All proceeds from the auction went to benefit the notMYkid organization, which provides advocacy services for parents of children with mental illness. A second auction will put a brand new blue Challenger STRT8 up for bidding with all of the proceeds of the sale going to the Victory Junction Gang, a camp for children with special health care needs.

There have been some complaints that the new design is too derivative of the original Challenger. They claim that the new design lacks originality and innovation. There have also been concerns that the large, gas guzzling engine will hurt sales when gas prices seemed determined to stay above the $3 a gallon mark. The gas prices could indeed hurt sales, but Chrysler isn't going for a million seller with the Challenger. Gas consumption also worries environmentalists, although Chrysler admits that they are not the target market for the Challenger.

Chrysler plans to make only 6400 of the 2009 Dodge Challenger STR8. The limited run car will come with a numbered engraved plate on the dash. The Challenger's that follow will have V6 engines and smaller versions of the massive Hemi V8 engines that will be in the first cars to arrive on the showroom floor.