Dave Thomas Sets NHRA AA/SA ET, MPH Records in Mopar Challenger V-10 Drag Pak

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., April 8, 2011

* Thomas sets record with a 9.43/143.90 pass in his 2011 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak
* Mopar Challenger V-10 Drag Pak built for sanctioned NHRA Stock and Super Stock configurations
* Mopar offers the only factory-built, V-10 powered race-ready package car

Less than one month after making its competition debut, the 2011 Mopar® Challenger V-10 Drag Pak is already rewriting the NHRA record books.

Dave Thomas, of Westchester, Pa., powered his 2011 Mopar Challenger V-10 Drag Pak to a record-setting 9.43-second elapsed time (ET) at 143.90 mph during a test session on Thursday, April 7 at the NHRA Division 1 National Open event at Atco (N.J.) Raceway (the test session allowed for record attempts). Thomas captured both the ET and mph records in the AA/SA class just two weeks after taking ownership of his Mopar Drag Pak, and with only a few passes under his belt in the new V-10-powered beast. Read more!

Machines come and go, usually becoming the victims of human progress..

Murray Markwell of Southern Customs, in Pakenham Melbourne loves his American Muscle Cars, he also loves having a beer and having a chat. Murray is a walking talking encyclopedia of information about cars and car culture. Bandit Films were happy to go along for the ride and film this old NASCAR behemoth, a true testament to speed, power and money…

Director: Aaron Cuthbert

Director of Photography/ Editing/Colour Grade: Daniel De Silva

Producer/ Photography: Tom Broadhurst

Music:

Title: The Outside Man theme music

Composer: Michel Legrand

Read more and watch the video!

The concept was created in 1963 on the underpinnings of the Polara and was meant to bring in the spotlights Chrysler’s newest engine at that particular time, the now iconic 426-cubic inch (7.0-liter) Hemi V8.

This amazing piece of history will be up for grabs at this year’s Automobiles of Arizona event held at Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, on January 20th. Though the RM Auctions hasn’t revealed its estimate yet, we believe it will trade for more than the $1.1 million (€830,000) it fetched last time it was sold, in 2007.

The car is currently in the possession of the late John M. O’Quinn and has been owned by several collectors over its 47-year existence. It was painstakingly restored by multiple award-winner Fran Roxas and it has one of the original 15 race Hemi engines, rated at 600+ horsepower, under the bonnet. Read more!

Dodge has prepared an extreme, drag strip-orientated incarnation of the 2011 Challenger.

Dubbed the Challenger Drag Pak, the vehicle drops its 6.1-liter V8 engine in order to use the Viper’s 8.4-liter V10 powerplant, which is mated to a drag racing two-speed automatic transmission. The power is sent to the road via a solid rear axle and a set of special tires. The racer can be ordered in Stock Eliminator or Super Stock versions.

Many systems and parts that added weight to the vehicle have been removed. We are talking about the HVAC system, the windshield wiper assembly, the rear seats, the power steering and the underbody heat shields.

The vehicle has been fitted with special parts such as polycarbonate door windows, lightweight racing seats that are six-point harness-ready, custom drag-race only front brakes, manual rack and pinion steering and others.

Mopar (the Chrysler Group’s parts division) will only build 70 units of the car, each one set to retail for a price of $85,512. Read more!

American manufacturer Chrysler is gearing up its Mopars for the 31st annual Mile-High NHRA Nationals, which will take place on July 23–25 at the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado. For the opening gala, Chrysler is prepping the recently introduced Mopar ‘10 Challenger.

“We’re looking forward to bringing Mopar Nation to Thunder Mountain,” Pietro Gorlier, MoparCEO said in a statement. “This is a premier stop on the NHRA circuit and a great place to showcase the Mopar brand and reveal our new Mopar ’10 Challenger.”

The Mopar ’10 hides a 5.7 liter Hemi V8 powerplant under its hood and comes with several unique features to set it apart from other Dodges, like black chrome finish for the grille surround and Brilliant Black paint.

As for the technical tweaks which will make the 500 units of the ’10 stand out from the crowd, they comprise hood-venting system and a cold air intake, front strut brace with shock caps and a rear strut tower brace and twenty inch forged rims.

Aside for the ’10, Mopar will display at the event the Ram 3500 Heavy Duty, a “Moparized” Dodge Challenger, Mopar Ram Runner and the Mopar Direct Connection Test Lab Vehicle.

“Bandimere Speedway is proud and honored to have Mopar call our track home,” added John Bandimere Jr., Bandimere Speedway CEO.

“Our unique venue and the forward-thinking people at Mopar make this one of the top fan experiences on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. We are eager to have our friends return to Denver for this long-running partnership.”

Chrysler Group LLC to Introduce Mopar® ’10 Challenger

Company Continues to Leverage, Grow Mopar Brand

- Mopar ’10 will be available in August
- Pricing starts at $38,000, which includes destination
- Five hundred special-edition cars to be built, customers may pre-order now

For the first time in its history, Chrysler Group LLC will launch a special-edition Mopar® version of one of its vehicles. The Mopar ’10, a Mopar 2010 Dodge Challenger, arrives in Dodge dealerships next month.

“Our Mopar ’10 Challenger is a collaboration of two iconic brands with tremendous heritage,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC. “Dodge put the heart into this Challenger and Mopar added the soul. The result is a unique, special-edition car that only we can offer.”

The U.S. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for Mopar ’10 is $38,000 for an automatic transmission and $39,000 for a manual transmission. Both prices include $750 for destination. Customers may pre-order now.

Straight out of Houston, Texas a new breed of muscle car emerges from the garage of Fastlane. The Stealth Challenger takes a stock 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8 and fits it with; A custom widebody kit D2 Forged 20×12.5 (rear) and 20×11 (front) wheels wrapped in Nitto 315 rubber Full suspension upgrades with coil overs and upgraded axles Forged 6.1L engine, bored, balanced, and blueprinted with a custom Comp Cam fitted with a Kenne Bell 2.6 supercharger kit and exhaust featuring American Racing headers, and a Magnaflow cat-back exhaust. All tuned by DiabloSport. Not only will it handle good, but it’s puts down 630 horses to the rear wheels.

Musclevehicles.com – The Ultimate Blog for American Muscle Cars and Muscle Vehicles

Mopar – Chrysler Group’s service, parts and customer care brand will present mobile TV into Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram and the first “winner” is going to be the Ram 2500.

If this really happens, Chrysler will be the first automaker in the United States to offer live, mobile TV to its clients – college and professional sports, breaking news, children’s shows, prime-time sitcoms, reality TV and daytime dramas.

Pietro Gorlier said “We are the first automaker in the United States to offer live, mobile TV in more than 100 metropolitan markets. Live, mobile TV gives our customers the ultimate in entertainment and it’s a great example of how Mopar adds value to our Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram brands.”

Just a bit of history to begin with – The 2009 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak program commemorated the 40th anniversary of the iconic 1968 Dodge Hemi Dart and Plymouth Hemi Barracuda package muscle cars. And despite the fact these cars were sold as road legal, the modern ones are not allowed on the public roads.

And here it is nowadays – Mopar introduced its 2010 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak program. This is a non-street legal V8 powered, racing version of the Dodge Challenger. This racing muscle car has a 6.1L Hemi V8 and a 6-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic transmission. The base model is the 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8 and finished in a Stock Eliminator configuration. It means that a lot of components have been replaced due to reduce weight.

The muscle car has some cool features as composite lift-off hood with functional scoop, Dodge Viper-style front seats, polycarbonate door windows, a lightweight cooling system, no power steering, bespoke lightweight front-brake assemblies and others.

The paint job is outstanding – retro Stone White paint and is eligible for NHRA Stock, Super Stock and Comp Eliminator drag racing. The price is about $39,999 and the muscle car will be available this summer.