The backstory behind HPP's showstopping Daytona conversion... is a Chevy Camaro next?

Jonny Lieberman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA Show, Classics, Coupe, Performance, Dodge

HPP Daytona - Click above for high-res image gallery

When we saw the HPP Daytona at this year's SEMA show, two things became very apparent. One, we'd really like to drive it. Two, we need better pictures of it. See, the poor thing got itself shoved into a tight booth at SEMA and we just couldn't get too many decent shots. So, being the enterprising lads that we are, we wrote HPP and asked if they had some better pictures. Guess what? You're looking at 'em.

One thing we really dig about these studio shots is the detailing. Just check out the custom exhaust tips - the square suckers sticking out of the Daytona's side behind the rear wheel. Nifty, no? Great hood latches, great front splitter, good looking (and apparently functional) hood scoops and really nice hood pins. And just look at that wing - fabulous. Really, the more we look, the more we like this 600-horsepower supercharged bad boy. Which leaves us with one big question: who is HPP?

Well now, included with the purty pictures was a very interesting explanation to that very question. Gordon M. Heidacker is the president of Heide Performance Products (HPP). He's been in the car business for 23 years, working for AMC and Chrysler while getting his hands dirty with cars like Plymouth Prowler and Dodge Viper. After the Cerberus debacle, Heidacker decided to go it on his own, and set up HPP to fill, "a general hole in the market for accessories and upscale vehicles that could be converted into passionate expressions of metal, glass, plastic to become rolling art." Sounds good by us.

As far as this here Daytona goes, Heidacker had a conversation with Chrysler explaining what he and his team wanted to do. And if Chrysler liked it, they'd fund it. But, as Heidacker points out, they "Delivered that proposal to Mopar exactly 1.5 hours before they declared bankruptcy. So we decided to internally fund the project." Timing, as it's said, is everything. What's next for HPP? Next up is another Challenger, but for next year's SEMA show, they'll be bringing a Chevrolet Camaro. We, for one, will be there. For a partial list of the 50 individual changes HPP made to the Challenger when turning it into the Daytona, make the jump.

Gallery: HPP Daytona Studio Shots

Gallery: SEMA 2009: HPP Daytona Challenger

[Source: hppcars.com]

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The backstory behind HPP's showstopping Daytona conversion... is a Chevy Camaro next? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SEMA 2009: HPP Daytona is one big Hot Wheels toy

Jonny Lieberman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA Show, Coupe, Performance, Dodge

HPP Daytona - Click above image for high-res gallery

We've been hearing about this car for three days, but we just couldn't find it. Then, just before lunch, one of our intrepid reporters tracked the beast down within the tropical bowels of Las Vegas Convention Center's Central Hall. Behold: the HPP Daytona!

Yes, it's a new Dodge Challenger wearing a Charger Daytona costume, but updated for today's muscle car aficionados. Under the hood sits a standard 5.7-liter HEMI V8, further proving the point that when it comes to the Daytona/Superbird, it's what's on the outside that counts! Luckily for us, HPP did a pretty decent job on the outside.

The nose cone works, and works well. Here comes the hate mail, but this author thinks the nose actually looks better than the original 1969 Charger Daytona's does. Here's a pic for reference. To be fair, the HPP's schnoz is actually much more like a Plymouth Superbird's than the Dodge. The wheels are great, the fake vents on the door are bad, the stance is right... and then we get to the rear wing.

While we're positive that it's the same dimensions as the mondo-sized Daytona/Superbird wing, the new Challenger's trunk is about half the length of the Sixties/Seventies cars. Meaning it looks... not quite right. Also, this Mopar muscle car has grown so much since forty years ago that the car is just screaming for more wing. But we'll still happily take one, as the HPP Daytona was/is totally worth the hunt.

Gallery: SEMA 2009: HPP Daytona Challenger

SEMA 2009: HPP Daytona is one big Hot Wheels toy originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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