Challenger 1320 in the Detroit News today

[shatar4]

Challenger thrills extend beyond racing
Re-engineering of Drag Pak transforms 1320 into model worthy of showing off on road
Larry Edsall / Special to The Detroit News
Perhaps it's an idea that makes sense only to the automotive enthusiast, but here's the thinking behind the Dodge Challenger 1320: You start with a Dodge Challenger that has been specially built for use exclusively on drag strips, but then you re-engineer it in such a way that it becomes legal to drive on public roads as well.

For those who wanted to make their Dodge Challengers more competitive for drag racing, Chrysler and Mopar developed the Mopar Drag Pak variation, a lightweight, stripped-down, racing-only special-order version of Dodge's very retro muscle car.

So far, so good -- and so fast.


But what if you wanted to put that Drag Pak Challenger on the public roads? Thus, the Dodge Challenger 1320 show car, which takes its name from the 1,320 feet of pavement that comprises a drag strip.

To create the Challenger 1320, the Mopar team of engineers and designers inserted an all-aluminum, 426-cubic-inch Hemi V-8 crate engine tuned to provide 556 horsepower. To enhance the engine's appearance and its breathing, they added unique valve covers, long-tube Mopar headers and a Mopar exhaust system.

For drag racing, electric cutouts allow the exhaust to bypass the muffler system, with exhaust exiting right behind the headers. For street use, the full exhaust system is employed.

The Challenger 1320 also gets a six-speed manual transmission and a custom Dynatrac rear housing with Mopar Dana 60 internals and a selectable ARB locking differential.

The car rides on an adjustable coil-over kit that Mopar offers as an option for the Challenger. It also gets Mopar police-package wheels, though they've been widened for the rear installation and carry Mickey Thompson street-legal drag racing radials.

To make the car lightweight, carbon fiber is used for the bulging hood with its Hemi scoop, for the new grille panel and headlight surround, and for the front spoiler.

The rear seat, center console and radio were removed to reduce weight even more. The interior basically comprises a pair of seats from a Dodge Viper, a sport steering wheel and a Hurst shifter.

The color is Acidic Hue, a nonmetallic yellow paint, with matte black graphics.



From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100218/AUTO03/2180384/1148/auto01/Challenger-thrills-extend-beyond-racing#ixzz0ftsUuiX8



From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100218/AUTO03/2180384/1148/auto01/Challenger-thrills-extend-beyond-racing#ixzz0ftsCZNar

[shatar4]

Here's a pic

[GhettoPop]

i've been searching the internet for quite some time on info on this car. will it be produced? any ballpark on cost?

this is my dream car, and hopefully it can be purchased in the future by an everyday mopar guy for a reasonable cost. considering what the SRT costs I'm guessing the 1320 would cost $50K+, which would be pretty expensive for me. i wish they would do away with power seats, p/windows, p/locks, p/mirrors, a/c on the 1320 and all stuff like that and pass the savings onto the consumer. any thoughts?

[73EStroker]

Ghetto - those are my thoughts exactly. Build a stripper car. I was talking to one of the Mopar Canada execs at the Calgary auto Show in 2008 and spoke of this to him. He thought it was an idea with merit but he must have simply been paying lip service to me as there is nothing about this yet. These cars have to reduce the weight as that is the single biggest killer of performance - power, braking and handling. More HP just reduces the first one, the other two are exacerbated by the increase in HP.