IN THIS FEATURE Detroit 03

The Dodge Avenger is a rally-style coupe designed to appeal to a generation fond of rally video games - and effectively a hot-hatch concept to test the reactions of American buyers to a small, European-style vehicle.

It has four doors, however, despite its fastback silhouette, though these open up to 90 degrees to allow for better loading of luggage or sports equipment. It's for the proverbial buyers with 'active lifestyles', and Dodge suggests skis and mountain bikes as likely cargo. To support that go-anywhere, do-anything message, the Avenger has four-wheel drive and raised suspension, giving it an SUV-type stance despite its coupe looks. The Avenger show car is finished in a red paint called Adrenaline Red Pearl, and, says Dodge, 'delivers as easily on the streets of New York City, Detroit and Chicago as on the back roads of Vail, Napa Valley or Cheyenne.'

Detailing includes 20-inch alloys, amber LED headlamps with silver surrounds, silver tips to the exhaust pipes and black headlamp bezels. The inside is finished in silver and black, with a stripped-out rally-car feel, textured vinyl flooring, four sports seats with built-in four-point harnesses, see-through storage bins and modular graphics. There is some provision for entertainment, though: a 'boom box' speaker integrated into the tailgate. Living up to the looks, a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine is fitted, teamed with semi-auto transmission and steering wheel-mounted paddle shifts. Is this perhaps an American-market version of Mercedes' C-Class Sport Coupe? Or a hint at the direction that model might take when it comes up for replacement?