2003 Dodge Durango RT HEMI Concept - Is This 'Concept' True to 2004 Production Specs?
 |
| The 2003 Dodge Durango HEMI Concept made its world debut in Detroit's North American International Auto Show on Wednesday, January 5th. (Photo: Joe Wilssens) |
Don't let the name fool you. The 2003 Dodge Durango Concept is really a thinly masked version of the next generation 2004 Durango. Like it? If you don't you're in the minority. The crowds around this future SUV were so thick it took until the last hour of the last day to take photos, and even then I had to continually stop people from peering through the windows and opening the doors between each shot.
The Durango sports a similar crosshair grille and wraparound and over headlight treatment as the ultra-hot Magnum SRT-8 Sports Tourer unveiled a few days earlier in Los Angeles, plus a near identical shade of metallic gray Dodge calls Liquid Graphite Metallic when applied here. Its flanks are muscular, highlighted by flexed fender flares and protruding side sills, while each circular taillight bulges out of the truck's rearmost edges, similar to the 2001 Powerbox SUV concept but even closer to the 2000 Powerwagon pickup truck concept.
 |
| The Durango concept's 2nd and 3rd row seats fold flat to make up to 2,860 L (101 cu ft) of cargo space. When the seatbacks are upright there's room for 7 occupants, allowing more hip, head and legroom than the current Durango. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler) |
A quick glance inside validates Dodge's production ambitions. Unlike most show cars, that might seem the part but under closer scrutiny aren't built with the care and attention of a production vehicle, the new concept's impressive plastic parts and high quality switchgear look and feel anything but slapped together. Both rows of rear seats fold forward creating a flat rear loading area, just like the current version, only the future model improves on available hauling space by 15%, at 2,860 L (101 cu ft). Also, a 4x8 ft sheet of plywood now fits snugly between the wheelhouses in the 1,219 mm (48 in) wide cargo area.