A "swing and a miss" on The RPM Collection ... and he's outta there!
Sometimes gathering some details on a particular car can be rather difficult ... if not impossible. Other times you just get lucky and it kind of falls into your lap when you least expect it. Better lucky than good they say, and that is certainly the case with our next entry.
Completely out of the blue I was contacted by Markus Brantschen of Switzerland who wanted to share with me a 1971 Hemi Challenger RT that he owned until recently. What he unveiled to me was nothing short of incredible as you will soon see. Thank you Markus for bringing this ultra-cool Hemi Challenger to my attention and sharing it with the Cuda-Challenger members. Give it up for Markus!
JS23R1B199938 is 1 of only 76 1971 Hemi Challenger R/T's ever made and is the only "export" 1971 Hemi Challenger RT known to exist. This incredible Hemi Challenger RT was sold new in Basel-Stadt Switzerland and has been in Europe for almost it's entire existence thus making it relatively unknown to North American enthusiasts ... until now!
This incredible Hemi Challenger RT was brought to my attention by it's fifth owner Markus Brandtschen of Switzerland. Markus owned the car from 2003 thru 2016 and is responsible for performing the beautiful restoration you see before you. Per Markus, this Challenger has spent the first 45 years of it's life in Europe, primarily in Switzerland, and is the only known export spec 1971 Hemi Challenger RT known to exist. In 2016, after 13 years of ownership, Markus decided to let someone else enjoy it and it left Europe for the very first time bound for North America and it's new owner.
This Hemi Challenger RT is just loaded with options! On the inside it has the A01 Light Group Package, B51 Power Disc Brakes, C16 Center Console, C26 Overhead Console, C62 Six-way seat, H31 Rear Window Defogger and P31 Power Windows among other things. Also note that the speedometer is calibrated in kilometers per hour for Europe vs miles per hour for North America; and that it is a "radio delete" since European radios operated on a different frequency band.
The Shaker hood is not an "upgrade" as it is coded on the fender tag for the car - along with a lot of other fantastic options such as: the A33 Track Pack 3:54 geared Dana Axle Package, A45 Aero (front and rear spoilers) Package, A46 Molding Group Package and the A78 Formal Roof Package (now that's rare on a 1971 Hemi car!). Also note the "export spec" data placard attached to the RH inner fender.
Didn't I say this Hemi Challenger RT was loaded with options? Just look at the fender tags! I don't think I have ever seen so many codes on one set of fender tags - not even the Zach Reynolds 1971 Hemi Cuda has more codes then the "Swiss Shaker" Challenger has. Whoever originally ordered this car in Basel-Stadt Switzerland check off what looks to be just about every possible option you could have selected for a 1971 Hemi Challenger RT. Simply amazing! On a side note, did you notice that although the car has Elastomeric bumpers on it, they are not coded on the fender tag (or the build sheet)? Per Markus, the dealership installed the Elastomeric bumpers before the original owner took possession of the car. With all the other option boxes the original owner checked, perhaps he thought that he checked the "A22" box too and was disappointed when the car showed up without them and had the dealer install them for him?
This is one incredibly beautiful and unique 1971 Hemi Challenger RT that has been out of sight of the North American enthusiast for a very long time ... until now. According to Markus, the new owner plans to debut this gorgeous Hemi Challenger RT at the 2017 MCACN show in Chicago. I plan on being there to check it out ... will you?
