The Dodge Hornet is a concept car designed and developed by Dodge and revealed in 2006. It is Dodge's first attempt at building a car this small, and it is expected to hit the road in 2008. According to Dodge it is a rally inspired design based on the Jeep Compass platform, powered by a 1.6 L supercharged 4-cylinder engine rated at 170 hp (127 kW), taken from the 2005 Mini Cooper S. However, the concept car itself was in fact simply built off of a MINI Cooper S that the design team purchased from a Detroit dealership. The Hornet has a throaty engine note, louder than Dodge's V10 Viper, and the performance of this car really is not surprising given Dodge's history of building "quick" cars with the New Charger and the Challenger soon to be arriving on UK roads. It can rapidly accelerate from 0-60 in 7.5 seconds, which is the same as the 'Checkmate Mini', and at £14,000 it is £4,000 less than the Mini. The Hornet's rear doors are rear-hinged to provide easier access to the rear seats, like that of the Mazda RX8.
* Engine - 1.6 L straight-4 (Supercharged)
* Power - 170 bhp (127 kW)
* 0-60 mph - 7.5 seconds
* Top Speed - 135 mph (217 km/h) +
* Price - £14,000 (estimated)
The Hornet name originates with the Hudson Hornet built by Hudson Motor Car Company, later the American Motors Corporation (AMC), from 1951 to 1957. The AMC Hornet was the second car to use the Hornet name from 1970 to 1977. AMC was acquired by Chrysler (Dodge's parent) in 1987.
