Autoblog

Dodge Challenger Super Stock shown from 2006 SEMA Show

Just like in the '60s, some people will take their new 2008 Dodge Challengers to the drags. Chrysler is reportedly ready to make this very easy for new Challenger owners. Allpar is reporting that within a few weeks, there will issue forth from Chrysler a Super Stock special version of the Challenger. The intended application is Stock Eliminator drag racing, and the cars get their own VINs and lots of lightening. Powering drivers down the strip will be versions of the Hemi and 5.9 liter Magnum V8s, twisting through manual or automatic boxes.

Jettisoning things like wipers, HVAC, sound deadening and seats make for a Challenger that's definitely not road-ready, but much lighter for track applications. 800 pounds have reportedly been trimmed out of the car through the omission of equipment and special composite body parts. Mechanicals have been modified to better suit the use, too. The main body unit gets tweaks, and the front crossmember is modified to a drop-out unit. Front brakes are largely unnecessary when the nose is in the air for part of the run, so lightweight units have been fitted. The fascia support and cooling system also get the slim-fast treatment. More information will supposedly arrive soon, but a 1,320-pounding neo-E body pony car appears close at hand.

[Source: Allpar]

The Dodge Challenger is cool. We say this in the general sense, because whether the topic of discussion is the classic from the 70s or the retro-fantastic new Challenger that Chrysler's bringing to showrooms next year, the consensus is that the cars are friggin' badass. As if reading everyone's minds, Chrysler followed up the Challenger concept with a second show car, the Challenger Super Stock that made it's debut at the last SEMA show. Sometime post-SEMA, the car ditched its vintage Sox & Martin livery for the matte black you see above. It's appropriately menacing, and its carbon fiber bodywork is stuffed with all the go-fast stuff Mopar could come up with. You can't look that evil without walking the walk.

Enter the gang at Edmunds, who were allowed to flog the Super Stock on the drag strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Senior Road Test Editor Josh Jacquot paints the rhetorical tableau detailing the experience of piloting Chrysler's priceless drag car, and what its like to unleash the 525-horse stampede contained in the Mopar 392 HEMI underhood. It's a fun read, and though the Super Stock bowed as a show car, the numbers it lays down at the strip are the real deal. Edmunds takes it into the 11s. Show car? Yeah, right. Read it here.

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]

John finally had a chance to track down the Challenger S/S for some better pics and as you can see, SEMA has something for everyone. For anyone who remembers when Mopar dominated the NHRA Super Stock ranks, this one brings back a flood of memories. Painted in the classic Ronnie Sox colors, the "new" Challenger S/S was built to showcase the 392 HEMI crate motor and remind everyone of a time long ago when sex was safe and racing was dangerous.

The 392 HEMI crate motor, in all of its 525 hp and 510 ft-lbs of glory, was installed in this beast by Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters in cooperation with the DCX Skunkwerks team, Mopar Performance, UAW Local 412 and MPR Race Cars. The motivation provided by the hood-scoop-fed, fuel-injected 392 HEMI is put to good use through an A999 automatic transmission and the classic DANA 60 solid rear axle hung by Mopar "Super Stock" leaf springs and spinning 15" Goodyear Eagle racing slicks. This setup replaces the independent rear suspension to "reduce wheel hop and improve straight line performance"... read: survive! Check out the wheelie bars!

We can't wait to see one of these with the front wheels high in the air like the Super Stockers of the late 60's and early 70's. Could 2009 be the pony car resurrection of 1969? By then we should have a Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger back on the streets and tearing up the drag strips of America once again!

See John's great pics after the jump!

Related Post:

• Chrysler's SEMA surprise: a 392 HEMI Dodge Challenger Super Stock

When creating a vehicle to commemorate a pair of Super Stock drag racing legends - in this case, Hubert "Georgia Shaker" Platt and Randy "Mr. Big Stuff" Payne - it's important not to mess around. Thus, Pure Power Motorsports created the Shadrach, a twin-turbo Mustang that boasts 900 hp and the necessary hardware to put that power to the ground.

Starting with a 2006 Mustang GT, the team stripped the car down to the shell. The engine, built by Al Moody Racing Engine, consists of the OEM block and CNC-ported 3-valve heads stuffed with some aftermarket forged parts. Up top sits a vintage-looking Kinsler velocity stack injection unit, with two injectors per cylinder. A pair of scrolls from Precision Turbo provides the pressurized intake charge, which is then cooled by a water-to-air intercooler setup. A T56 six-speed manual has the unenviable task of directing all of this power rearward.

Think not that the rest of the vehicle has been neglected in the pursuit of power. Ohlins dampers connect to a variety of AJE and Metco suspension parts, while a set of huge Brembo brakes slow things down. A Strange 9" Ford rear axle puts the power to the hopelessly overworked rear wheels.

The exterior gets treated to a Shadrach body kit, a trick side-exhaust systems, a monstrous Pro Stock-like wing, a set of 20" rollers, and vintage "The Going Thing" graphics. Inside lie a 6-point roll bar, a pair of leather-wrapped Recaro seats, and more carbon fiber than the average aerospace plant. Of course, Mr. Platt and Mr. Payne affix their signatures to the dash once everything is to their liking.

Hit the Read link for some more pics.

[Source: Modded Mustangs]