Those of you collecting every scrap of information on the new Dodge Challenger will be delighted to know that production is now underway at the Brampton Assembly Plant in Ontario. Approximately 7,200 2008 SRT8 Challengers are scheduled to roll off the plant’s flexible manufacturing lines over the next few months, interspersed between the usual run of Dodge Chargers and Chrysler 300 models.

Canada will only see 700 of these cars. Mexico gets 100 and the rest go to the U.S.

Apparently they’re all sold, so if you haven’t pre-ordered, it will be a challenge to get one this summer.

To commemorate the start of production, one of the first Challengers was unveiled at a short ceremony attended by plant workers, Chrysler Canada President Reid Bigland, Executive Vice President - Manufacturing, Frank Ewasyshyn, and Sandra Pupatello, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade.

Journalists were given a plant tour which was carefully timed to conclude with the sight of an orange Challenger rolling off the line.

The panels for the Challenger are cut from rolls of steel supplied by nearby Dofasco and Stelco, and stamped on-site at the Brampton plant.

Workers at the plant are assisted in the assembly by 581 robots to transform the raw materials into finished cars.

The first Challenger (actually a concept version representing the first production model) was auctioned by Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, Arizona earlier this year, selling for $400,000, which went to the notMYkid charity. Early production models are headed for celebrities like talk-show host and car collector Jay Leno, and Dr. Phil McGraw, host of the popular TV show, Dr. Phil.

Bigland said the Challenger is a "halo" model that will draw attention to the other Dodge and Chrysler products. Unveiled next to an immaculately restored vintage Dodge Challenger R/T owned by Brampton plant employee Glen McMeeken, the two-door, rear-wheel drive 2008 Challenger is a homage to the past that utilizes modern manufacturing processes and automotive technology. It represents "the best of Chrysler’s past and future," said Ewasyshyn.

The 2009 Challenger, launching later this year, will be available in SE (V6), R/T and SRT8 versions.

While the 2008 SRT8 models use an automatic transmission exclusively, the 2009 V8 models will also be available with a manual transmission.

The price in Canada for the limited run of 2008-and-a-half SRT8 models is $44,995, plus $1,300 destination charge.