Challenger

**Randomly Parked** | No

The **Challenger** is a vehicle in *Saints Row: The Third* and *Saints Row IV*.

## Overview

The favored tank of SNG, the Challenger is a heavily-armored vehicle boasting phenomenal endurance and excellent firepower. It is armed with a trio of potent weapons - a 120mm Cannon, a coaxial heavy machine gun, and a roof-mounted heavy machine gun used by the passenger. Like all tanks, the Challenger can only be stolen if the gunner manning the roof-mounted gun is killed.

Whilst not as powerful as STAG's Crusader tank, the Challenger is nonetheless a devastating force if used correctly. Heavy armor paired with exceptional firepower means that it has little trouble surviving the worst of what enemy gangs can dish out, and its sheer mass allows it to simply flatten enemy vehicles caught in its path - only heavily-armored vehicles (although the STAG N-Forcer can be crushed) or exceptionally large vehicles (such as the Steelport Municipal) cannot be crushed in this fashion.

The Challenger is painfully slow and easily out-maneuvered and is extremely vulnerable from the air. Additionally, the use of a tank means that enemies take notice - Gangs deploy Brutes and enemies with Annihilator RPGs or GL G20s, Steelport Police and SNG units use Eagles, Tornados, and Vulture, and STAG deploy F-69 VTOLs, Crusaders, and soldiers use RPGs.

Also, getting into trouble with the Challenger is almost unavoidable. This is because even if the player calls the Tank Homie and get a Challenger that doesn't automatically warrant a five-star notoriety rating, the sight of the 70 ton vehicle rolling down the street terrorize the pedestrians and drivers as they panic and try to make a futile escape, which lead them right in front of the Challenger. This may cause the Challenger to accidentally run them over, crush vehicles, or cause other type of property damage while trying to avoid these situations. This inevitably, leads to police attention.

A Challenger is delivered via the Tank Homie ability. Like most military vehicles, it cannot be painted or customized. Additionally, it cannot make use of Nitrous, even with the "all vehicles have Nitrous" ability. The new activity - Tank Mayhem, gives players a Challenger and demands they rack up as much destruction as possible in a given time limit.

The Challenger has headlights and rear lights that are made up of three triangles that point to the outer edge of the vehicle.

### *Saints Row IV*

There are two variants of the Challenger: with normal cannon and static.

The Challenger with normal cannon is used in Cat & Mouse Diversion and can be saved by scanning it.

The Challenger with static turret is used by ZPD officers in Mayhem, UFO Mayhem, Tank Mayhem and Mech Suit Mayhem. To get one, start Mayhem near Broken Shillelagh and after the Challenger appears, generate the black hole, so it can suck the driver but not the tank. Then push it to Activity start location and wait until the Activity fails, pressing Enter button continually.

## Obtaining

### *Saints Row: The Third*

* The easiest way to acquire a Challenger is to simply contact the Tank Homie, who delivers one when phoned.
* Challengers begin showing up at maximum Notoriety (level 5). The turret gunner must be killed before entering the Challenger. Challengers stop showing up once STAG has arrived in Steelport, but return post-game, after STAG has been driven out. Saving and reloading causes STAG to reappear.

### *Saints Row IV*

* The Challenger is one of the Cat vehicles in Cat & Mouse and can be kept.
* The Challenger appears in On-Foot Mayhem near the Broken Shillelagh. When the tank appears, suck the driver out with the Black Hole Launcher, but don't destroy the tank. Press the "Enter Vehicle" button, then do nothing until the timer runs out. After exiting the activity, the Challenger is there.

## Modifications

*Saints Row: The Third*
The Challenger has a total of 4 Vehicle Customization options. It does not have Kneecappers or Wheel Options available.

Mods
* 2 Decal 1s
* 1 Grime 1s
* 1 Grime 2s

Paints
* Body Color
* Trim Color
* Window Tint

## Variants

*Saints Row: The Third*
* Average (100%)
* bigwheels (0%)

*Saints Row IV*
* Average (100%)
* bigwheels (0%)

## Trivia

* The Cheat for this vehicle in *Saints Row: The Third* is "*givechallenger*".
* There is no Cheat for this vehicle in *Saints Row IV*.
* The Challenger resembles the real world M1A1 Abrams, specifically, the M1-A1HA (Heavy Armor) version since it does not have the CITV (Commander Independent Thermal Viewer). It has features of the TUSK (Tank Urban Survival Kit) upgrade, specifically, the ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor) side skirts. It also includes the additional armour package for the loader's weapon, though this is mounted on the commander's weapon (the loader's being absent) instead of using a Remote Weapon Station.
	+ The real driver station on the Abrams is located in the center on the lower hull, right under the cannon. There is no hatch here on the Challenger, and the player, as usual with videogame tanks, takes the role of the entire crew by climbing into the turret.
* It is named after the British Challenger tank series.
* Driving it, while having police Notoriety level 4 or above, causes the SNG to send Bulldogs and Tornados after the player.
* Entering a Challenger which has never been stored in the Garage gives an automatic level 5 Notoriety. Retrieving the tank from Garage or by Vehicle Delivery Homies does not give any Notoriety.
* The Challenger is the most durable ground vehicle in *Saints Row: The Third*, along with the ASP, Bear and Crusader, which all have exactly the same hit points.
* There is a bug affecting the Challenger, which can make the vehicle impossible to enter. This is due to the fact that the cannon barrel is solid. And since a good part of the barrel protrudes over the lower hull, if it struck solid ground, such as going down hill too fast, it may get stuck in it. If the tank is still moving forward, the stuck cannon barrel acts as a pivot and cause the tank to leave the ground permanently. Since the programming does not recognize this, it causes the tank to shift, spin and "tapdance" wildly out of control. This is impossible to stop. The only thing the player can do is get out and move away from the tank since if they get too close, they may get run over and get killed. THQ has promised to address this in an upcoming patch.[*reference?*]
* The Challenger's treads spin, but its roadwheels do not.
* The police have unique dialogue when driving any Tank, for example, some cops say: *A tank... Are you serious?*, *Stop wrecking my town!* and, *You in the tank... Please pull over!*
	+ Playa also has unique dialogue when fighting enemies in any Tank, such as *How are you going to stop a tank?!*
* Sometimes when being chased by the National Guard, pursuing tanks have flashing headlights as on other police vehicles. These cannot be used by the player. If a Challenger is stolen with the flashing lights active, they cannot be turned off, but they stop flashing when the vehicle is stored or modified.
* In *Saints Row: The Third*, the Challenger can be upgraded and recolored via a Vehicle Customization glitch.
	+ If the Challenger's armor is upgraded to level 4, it makes the vehicle almost indestructible, being able to take constant fire from enemy tanks and helicopters for a long period of time.
* In *Saints Row IV*, Rim Jobs does not list any kind of tanks on its lineup, thereby preventing the glitch being used.
* It is possible to get Respect really quick by using a Challenger or any other tank. Get any gang's Notoriety and/or STAG's and then go to the dock where Kinzie's Warehouse is located. Enemies appear only from the main street and they can be easily killed by simply using the tank's weapons.
* It is possible to perform a "Windshield Cannon" if the speed value is changed in the gamefiles.
* The Challenger doesn't appear in *Saints Row: Gat out of Hell*, but can be obtained by modifying the game files.

## References

1. ↑ **YouTube**: Saints Row: The Third Paint Jobs and Explosions Gameplay
2. ↑ **YouTube**: Saints Row 4 Gameplay Walkthrough Part 9 - Campaign Trail of Destruction

This article contains no references. See Help:Refs.