Dodge Charger Super Bee is back for 2011

The Dodge Charger Super Bee is poised to make a tire-smoking comeback in 2011.

Chrysler revealed the future product nugget in a presentation detailing its first-quarter earnings this week. No further information was immediately available, though the company said the Super Bee will arrive in 2011.

A spokesperson declined to elaborate beyond “stay tuned.”

The name is a reference to the iconic model worn by the Coronet (1968-70) and the Charger (1971). Dodge also resurrected the name for special-edition SRT8 Chargers in recent years.

Chrysler
The 2007 Dodge Charger Super Bee

The Super Bee would be yet another enhancement for the Charger, which was upgraded for the new model year with sculpted sheetmetal and dramatic taillights that hark back to its muscle-car predecessors of the late 1960s. The modern sedan was fortified with a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine making 292 hp, and the Hemi V8 now pushes out 370 hp. Additionally, the SRT8 version received a bolstered 6.4-liter V8 making 465 hp.

As expected, the Charger will also get a new eight-speed automatic transmission, which will be a new feature on the Dodge's redesigned sibling, the Chrysler 300. Both cars ride on the same rear-wheel-drive platform.

Dodge has already shown Rallye and Mopar packages for the Charger.

Chrysler made $116 million in the first period of the year and its first profit since filing for bankruptcy two years ago.

This chart indicates a Super Bee is due for the Charger in 2011. It was released in a presentation this week by the company.

In other Chrysler product news:

The Jeep Wrangler is also expected to get the Pentastar V6 engine, replacing the 3.8-liter mill it currently employs with 202 hp. The new V6 likely would considerably boost output in the Jeep, as it makes 283 hp in the Chrysler 200 and the Dodge Caravan.

The Dodge Avenger and the Chrysler 200 will get dual-clutch transmissions.

These nuggets also were detailed in Chrysler's earnings slide, and the company wouldn't comment further.

By Greg Migliore