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SEMA: Mopar Challenger tribute to 426 Hemi
The 2015 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak concept is all about quarter-mile speedNothing says power and makes power like the 426 Hemi. That's a generalisation but still comes close to the truth.
Chrysler certainly swears by that principle and has brought it into the 21st Century, wrapped up in a Dodge Challenger show car for SEMA, the Speciality Equipment Market Association show running this week in Las Vegas.
The Challenger Drag Pak concept was revealed in August and is significant in that it continues Mopar's support of Sportsman class drag racing. GM's COPO program shares a similar strategy – backdoor factory support for amateur drag racers.
The Mopar Challenger concept (Mopar likes to call it a test car) is based on the Challenger platform and is available in tyre-smoke white with retro striping. With a 426 aluminium block Hemi under the bonnet and a few hundred horsepower, the drag pak concept also includes the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT front and rear fascia trim, rear spoiler and a full roll cage fabricated to NHRA specifications.
The concept was developed for quarter mile racing so the spec sheet includes just about everything you'd want for a Sportsman class car: Chrysler-based 727 automatic transmission, a race-style stick shifter with integral line lock, and an aluminium driveshaft. It is also track ready with a weigh box in the boot and a boot-mounted 12-volt battery.
The concept is equipped with 15-inch diameter wheels with the fronts wearing 28-inch diameter tyres (4.5 inches wide). Rear tyres measure 30-inch diameter (nine inches wide). The test vehicle's front suspension currently sports the 2015 Mopar K-Member and strut suspension geometry, front struts with adjustable compression and rebound. A four-link suspension system for the live rear axle is held in place laterally by a Panhard rod and features rear dampers with adjustable compression and rebound, and an anti-roll bar.
If the NHRA approves the specifications on the 2015 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak concept, production numbers will be limited to less than a couple of hundred.
Dodge Challenger T/A Concept
The Dodge Challenger T/A Concept (pictured here in green) oozes raw performance. And it should. The Challenger itself takes its design cues from the late 1960s and with a 6.4-litre 392 Hemi V8 there's serious performance heritage behind the concept's origins. Sublime Green and T/A sideburn graphics are right from Dodge's scrapbook dated class of 1970. So true to the 70s era, if you scratch the graphics you can almost smell the aroma of Brut aftershave.
Enough of the heritage feel, power and technology dominate the serious end of the Challenger T/A concept, with a Viper-style bonnet scoop that doesn't actually draw cold air, but provides bonnet clearance for the engine's induction system. Cold air is taken from behind both headlamps.
Matte black is the perfect colour for the wheels. The same colour as the road, a burnout and brake dust. Plus, the matte black plays perfectly with bright red Brembo six-piston calipers visible behind each of the thin Y spokes on the set of 20x9.5-inch lightweight forged aluminium wheels.
You may notice the Challenger T/A exhaust dumps through rear and side pipes. Electronic cutouts offer the choice of a healthy rear exhaust stock sound or a louder, less muffled side exhaust note.
Inside the Challenger T/A concept is true to its Trans-Am acronym with perforated leather flat bottom steering wheel. Circuit-inspired carbon-fibre seats with safety harness pass-through and T/A embroidered logos provide plenty of feel through the backside but also provide a level of comfort with firm bolstering and high grip cloth for high-G lateral support. The 180 mph speedometer isn't an exaggeration.
Dodge Charger R/T Mopar Concept
Australia invented the four-door muscle car, and the Dodge Charger R/T Mopar Concept (pictured in red) takes four-door performance to a price point to satisfy everyone. Designer Jeff Gale starts at the grille: "Notice the cutouts in the grille reflect the overall front grille and headlight graphic." It is a subtle touch that looks cool when you finally notice it.
Jeff Gale knows about Chrysler design heritage. After all, it's in his own DNA. He's the son of Tom Gale who led Chrysler design during the 90s and inspired the Prowler and Viper and a generation of good-looking sedan and coupes.
The concept moves old-school muscle forward with a unique new front splitter, as well as Mopar side sills and sill extensions that improve aerodynamic characteristics. At the rear, a unique one-piece rear spoiler produces more downforce at higher speeds as well as produces a far more visually dynamic rear profile.
Wheels are forged 20x9 inch and are available from Mopar's parts inventory. The concept is powered by a standard spec 5.7-liter HEMI V8 engine. Additional Mopar performance mods include a coil-over kit, front and rear anti-roll bars and front and rear strut tower braces.
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Written byTodd Hallenbeck
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