Arriving in American dealerships this August, the Mopar ’10 Challenger is a special edition version of the retro-inspired muscle car that will be built in a limited number of 500 examples. Based off a Challenger R/T with the 5.7-litre Hemi V8, the Mopar ’10 edition gets a range of performance and styling parts directly off Mopar’s shelves.

Mopar starts by adding a bonnet scoop, cold-air intake, front strut brace, unique engine cover and a strut-tower brace. Chrysler hasn’t released official performance figures, but these modifications probably draw out an additional 10 or 15 horses.

The special edition Challenger will be available exclusively in Brilliant Black and a choice of three accent colors (Mopar Blue, Red or Silver) that appear on side striping and are repeated in the stitching on the steering wheel and seats.

The Mopar ’10 also comes with 20-inch forged heritage gloss-black wheels, black-chromed grille surround, and  Mopar logos and graphics on the front fascia, hood, hood-pin caps, body-side stripes, windows and on the chromed fuel door. A special Mopar 2010 cover will also be thrown in with the vehicle.

Inside, the muscle-coupe gets Katzkin leather seating, custom leather-wrapped steering wheel with baseball-style stitching, Mopar shift handles (T-handle for automatics, Pistol Grip for manuals), and a special dash plaque with the Mopar ’10 logo.

Stateside pricing for the Mopar ’10 Challenger starts from about $38,000 (about $53,500 NZ) for the automatic model and from $39,000 for the self-shifting manual version.

According to reports a brand spanking new Hemi V-8 engine is in the works at Chrysler, and it’s expected to be packing 6.4-litres of displacement and somewhere in the region of 500 horsepower. The 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8 will be the first car to benefit from this new HEMI, with details on the car just released.

The Challenger SRT8 will pack around 480 horspower and although that’s down on the projected power figures for the new motor it’s still a 55-horsepower increase over the current 425-horsepower 6.1-liter HEMI V-8 in Chrysler’s SRT8 vehicles. It is, however, still well short of the 550-horsepower supercharged V-8 in the 2011 Mustang GT500.

The engine will find other uses including being dropped into Jeep’s 2011 Grand Cherokee SRT8 which is based on the all-new 2011 Grand Cherokee. It had been expected to top 500 horsepower in this form but no official figures have been released by Chrysler yet and it does seem unlikely that the Jeep would get a more powerful version than the muscular Challenger.

Whatever the final output for both vehicles it’s great to see a new HEMI engine and the current 6.1-litre engine is known as one of the best-sounding, most fun-to-drive V-8s to come out of the States for some time.

The good ole Challenger turns 40-ish this year. Well, it’s not quite that simple for the Challenger it was first built 40-years ago but hasn’t been constantly produced. Whatever the case, Chrysler has released a photo-run-through of the model’s rich history.

The first generation Challenger had a production run from 1970-74, this Challenger was offered with an inline six-cylinder and many choices of V8. The 8-cylinder options ranged from a 318 cubic inch unit making 230 horsepower to the 425-horse 426 Hemi and then the 390-horsepower 440 (output numbers lowered because of the oil crisis). After the ’74 model year Challenger production stopped, with around 188,000 units sold.

The second-generation Challenger arrived four years later in 1978. Unlike the original E-body Barracuda twin, this model was watered down and based on a Mitsubishi with a pitiful 77-horsepower 1.6 liter inline-four or an optional 105-horsepower 2.6 litre I4.

Finally, the third generation is currently selling over in the States, it debuted in 2006 as a concept and hit the streets as a 2008 model. Back to the original ways, this Challenger is available with a six-cylinder or optional V8s, unique colors, and a various factory accessories. The top end hero model is currently the SRT with a 425-horsepower 6.1 litre Hemi.

It’s been a broken and wild ride for the Dodge Challenger, check out the images in the gallery below to see how it played out.

American tuners SpeedFactory have gone to work on the Dodge Challenger SRT8 and increased the output from 425 hp to 600 hp (447 kW) without using a supercharger.

How did they do it? SpeedFactory started with the standard 6.1-litre Hemi engine and increased the displacement to 7.0-litres (426 cu in). A higher volume air intake system was added and matched up to a stainless steel Corsa exhaust, SpeedFactory also used a custom Comp hydraulic cam along with a larger 85mm throttle body with a CNC machined stock manifold that is port matched with a blended plenum to produce a dyno-proven 595-605 HP on 91 octane fuel, according to the company.

The power goes through a six-speed manual transmission, and SpeedFactory has also added a Getrag IRS and Centerforce clutch.

The vehicle’s handling is also tweaked with performance-grade springs, new struts, and new sway bars. Filling the guards are 20-inch BBS wheels wrapped up in Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tyres.

Interior appointments include leather seats, leather door inserts, custom floormats and various badging round out the package.  The 2010 SF600R Challenger is now available over in the States at a cost of $73,900 USD.

Police can be pretty damn cool. Just not when they’re filling our rearview mirrors, with the spinning blue-and-reds.

What is cool however is when a Police department does something a bit different with it’s squad cars. This particular example comes from the Broward County Sheriff’s office in Florida, U.S.A, which has added a fully-dressed Dodge Challenger R/T to its fleet. Decked out in the Broward County green-and-white livery, the muscular Mopar looks like it means business. It’s a look that would work equally well in pursuit of drug runners as it would kerb crawling on vice duty or busting up meth labs.

The General Lee, the orange Dodge Charger from the popular ’70s TV series The Dukes Of Hazzard, is probably the most famous Hollywood Chrysler of all time. But famous is one thing, cool is another. Is the General Lee the coolest Mopar in history? Some might think so. Others may instead suggest Christine, the red ’59 Plymouth Fury from the 1983 movie of the same name based on the Steven King novel; or maybe the green Dodge Charger used in the 1974 movie Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry. But as far as we’re concerned, the coolest Chrysler ever to appear on screen ” and surely right up there with John Milner’s piss-yellow ’32 Ford coupe from American Graffiti and Steve McQueen’s wicked green ’68 Mustang Fastback from Bullitt as one of the coolest cars in Hollywood history ” is the ghostly white 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T that starred in the 1971 movie Vanishing Point.

If Chrysler’s goal was to promote the Dodge Challenger R/T as a tough, sleek, sporty, high speed, open road belter oozing the cool factor, then offering to supply several identical white Dodge Challengers free of charge for the starring role in Vanishing Point was one of the smartest marketing decisions it could have made.

Vanishing Point was a movie about a down on his luck character named Kowalski (his first name isn’t given), who seems to find trouble wherever he goes. He has found employment in the most unlikely of places, including as a motocross rider and NASCAR racer, and even a cop.

To add to the misery of it all, his girlfriend drowns in a surfing accident. Kowalski just can’t catch a break, and by the time he takes up a dead-end job as a long-haul delivery car guy, he’s pretty screwed up, no doubt thanks in part to the fact he’s a pill popper, and doesn’t sleep.

Anyway, Vanishing Point is set over the span of less than two days. In the opening scene he is delivering a car to his employer’s Denver base late on a Friday night. Rather than hitting the hay, he instead insists on collecting another car and delivering it straight back to San Francisco. That car, of course, is a white 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T (said to be a 440 Magnum big block). He’s exhausted, so the first stop he makes before departing Denver is to his supplier, to stock up on ‘uppers’.

Early the next morning, in a dazed state, Kowalski is speeding along a country road when a motorbike cop rides up alongside him, yelling at him to pull over. Suddenly snapping to, Kowalski instead puts his boot into it and the cop give chase. After a few high speed stunt driver manoeuvres Kowalski loses the cop, but the law now wants his head. They get heavier, the chase scenes get bigger, and the rest of the movie is basically about him trying to escape, mixed in with a few flashbacks and a smattering of the odd-ball people he meets during his journey.

Been There, Done That

Of course, most V8 nuts have seen Vanishing Point, and those who haven’t know how it ends. It’s a cool ending (unless you wanted a sequel), and further adds to the aura of the starring Challenger R/T. The exact number of Dodge Challengers supplied by Chrysler for the movie is not completely clear, but eight were destroyed during filming. Director Richard C Sarafian returned for the Vanishing Point DVD and talks about how, late in the piece when they were down to just one last car, it was stolen by a prostitute who was one of the hangers-on during filming (this was the laid back ’70s, remember). Whether this means eight cars were supplied by Chrysler and all were destroyed, or there were nine and one survived filming, is unclear. Another fact that isn’t explained is why the car that hits the bulldozer road block at the end of the movie is not actually a Challenger, but a ’67 or ’68 Camaro.

The Challengers used in filming were maintained by a hard-as-nails ’50s race car driver called Max Balchowsky. Balchowsky built a series of Buick Nailhead-powered sports cars, made up primarily of junkyard parts, which he named Ol’ Yellar (they were all painted yellow), and which could beat off the best European Ferraris, Maseratis and Jaguars of the day. The cars used for the film appear to have had wider tyres fitted, and the suspension seemed lower than standard, which made them look even tougher. Chrysler was gaining great exposure in the right marketplaces for the Dodge Challenger, such as in drag racing through numerous top flight drives like Funnycar racers Gene Snow, the famous Ramchargers, and Pro Stock racer Dick Landy. Meanwhile, over in the TransAm circuit racing scene the bright green factory-backed Challenger T/As of Sam Posey were keeping the roundy-roundy fans happy. But the 1971 release of Vanishing Point really completed the package and set the Dodge Challenger up as one of the greatest cars in America’s rich pony car history.

More Muscle Than Pony

The Challenger was Dodge’s contribution to the pony car craze, started by the Mustang in 1964. Dodge was quite late arriving on the scene, and by the time the Challenger finally appeared in 1970, it found the pony car market a busy place indeed, with not only the market-leading Mustang to contend with, but also the Mercury Cougar, Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Firebird, AMC’s Javelin, and even sister company Plymouth’s Barracuda. Regardless, sales figures for the Challenger reached 80,000 in its first year.

The Challenger was offered in four different forms for 1970: the base model Challenger six, Challenger V8, Challenger R/T, and the low volume Challenger T/A, which was built to homologate parts for the TransAm series. The T/A, of which just under 2400 units were sold, was only available for the 1970 model year, before being dropped by Chrysler when its brief foray into TransAm racing ended at the conclusion of the 1970 racing season. In 1971, as the pony car market began its decline, Challenger sales dropped dramatically to just over 26,000 units. This figure worsened still for ’72, at just under 23,000. For 1973, 27,000 units were sold, while in 1974, the final year in the Challenger’s brief existence, Dodge could shift only 11,000 units. While the Mustang and Camaro carried on beyond the mid-’70s despite being mere shadows of their former selves, Chrysler ” which was in financial strife by this stage ” chose not to continue with the Challenger.

Chrysler sold around 165,000 Challengers over the five years the model was in production which, by American standards, made it quite a low volume car.

Examples can be found today, but because they are relatively rare and enjoy a strong image thanks to their many drag racing successes, allied with their excellent factory performance, aggressive styling and the clever marketing campaigns of the day, they are quite rightly highly sought-after cars.

Home Town Hero

Today, many Dodge Challenger enthusiasts have Vanishing Point director Richard C Sarafian to thank for their love affair with this swoopy, staunch-looking coupe. One of those enthusiasts is Aucklander Mark Barton, who is the lucky owner of this magnificent 1970 Challenger R/T. As Mark puts it, “I watched the movie Vanishing Point as a young guy and just loved it. I remember the naked girl [who famously rode a motorbike in the movie wearing nothing but a smile], and then I remember the car! I love all muscle cars, but the Challenger is just a little different. And that movie did inspire me, and I thought, shit, I’m going to have one of those some day.”

Mark has owned his Challenger for around 18 months, although it has been in New Zealand for about five years. Being a factory manual car and a genuine R/T, it’s one of just a handful in the country ” if not the only one. It was imported from Oregon, where it had spent most of its life. It was a bone dry car with no rust, but it required a rebuild to bring it to the point Mark was happy with it: as an immaculate factory original vehicle. “When I got it it’d had a partial restoration, and then I took it home and basically pulled it to bits again. I tried to buy all the right bits, spent hours on eBay searching for parts. It really required a lot of finishing stuff, like mouldings, badges, the jack, all that sort of fiddly original stuff.

“Thank goodness for the internet and good exchange rate!” he says. Mark also had portions of the bodywork tidied up and straightened, and repainted by Manurewa Panelbeaters, while the gearbox and diff were both restored, and the bumpers were re-chromed. The dashboard was beautifully restored by Dashboard Restorations in Auckland, while Robinsons Instruments did all the gauges. The only other change to the interior was a full install of Dynamat sound deadening, which Mark says did a fantastic job of removing unwanted rattles and made the cabin a really nice place to be. Carl at the NZ Mopar Registry (see page 36) was extremely helpful, finding parts and supplying info, while the American Muscle Car Club also played an important role.

As Good As It Gets

What Mark has ended up with is a picture perfect, factory stock Challenger that is true to its roots. And it’s no trailer queen, either ” he gets it out and drives it as much as he can. The lack of brake booster makes for an interesting drive, even though the car has new drums all round, but it’s all part of driving an old car and a small price to pay for the stunning performance of the machine. He didn’t build the car to win awards, he built it to drive and enjoy. That said, he was recently invited to a Mopar Show, put on by Mopar Connections at Meremere, to display the car (see page 84). And he was pleasantly surprised when he was awarded top E-body at the show. “I was actually pretty chuffed with that,” he says. “I actually amazed myself at how chuffed I was. I’m not really into the whole car show thing, I’m happy to go along and park it there. But though it’s not really my thing I was really happy with that.”

Who wouldn’t be happy with a Challenger in the garage, let alone one that takes out those types of awards?

SPECS

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T

Engine: 6276cc (383ci), Roller rockers, Edelbrock Torker manifold, Edelbrock 700cfm carb, Mallory distributor, Top Gun leads, 2.5-inch custom-built exhaust

Driveline: A833 Chrysler four-speed with factory Hurst shifter and pistol grip, Centreforce clutch, 8.75-inch diff, 3.23 gears

Suspension: New shocks and springs

Brakes: All-new factory drum brakes all round, no booster (scary)

Wheels and tyres: Magnum 15-inch, Cooper Cobra tyres

Exterior: Stock

Interior: Dynamat installed throughout, reconditioned dash pad by Dashboard Restorations

Performance: Breathtaking

DRIVER PROFILE

Mark Barton

Age: “Past my best before date”

Occupation: Owner Auckland Motors Mitsubishi/Manukau Mitsubishi

Previously owned cars: 1972 GT Falcon, ’68 Camaro, AC Cobra, and lots and lots of others

Dream Car: “If it’s got a Hemi I will take it”

Why the Challenger? Vanishing Point movie when young — as well as the naked girl on the motorbike, the car made an impression

Build time: Ongoing

Length of ownership: 18 months

Mark thanks: Manukau Mitsubishi, Manurewa Panelbeaters, NZ Mopar Registry for parts and knowledge, Mike Lancaster @ year one, my partner Rayleen and their two boys Joe and Ollie, Kelly at Stitches Upholstery for helping out, Otahuhu Chrome Platers

Words: Steve Holmes | Pics: Quinn Hamill

A rare 1971 Dodge Challenger convertible here in New Zealand? You bet it is.

Auckland’s Brett Wallen is a Mopar man. Having owned his Valiant Charger from the age of 16, I guess there was never really another option for him. Since his days of being a boy and doing as boys do, both Brett and the Charger have come a long way. These days the car has a tough 340 in it, and Brett has a handful of stablemates for it.

After driving and toying with the Valiant for more than 20 years, Brett decided it was time to park some American muscle in the garage. He scoured the internet for what seemed like an eternity, before this 1971 Dodge Challenger convertible showed up. Brett knew that was the car for him. He’d never bought a car out of the States before and admits it was a steep learning curve, but one that obviously didn’t put him off. The convertible was in California, so external rust wasn’t an issue and, surprisingly, the interior wasn’t sun perished either, making it look like a comparatively simple restoration. But once the car arrived back home, Brett’s family and friends all wondered what the hell he had got himself in to.

The Rebuild Begins

The hidden damage Brett found meant the car needed to be completely stripped and sandblasted to ensure rust would never be a problem again. It was about this time Brett decided that if he was going to so much effort, the car may as well look just as good underneath too. Detailing the undercarriage is no small task, but the underside of the Challenger looks just as good as the top does thanks to many hours spent on a rotisserie.

Scott Tercel was responsible for the panel work, adding a few patch panels here and there and ensuring gaps were micrometre perfect. Brett can’t speak highly enough of his workmanship.

Once Scott was finished, Bob Norris from Howick Panel and Paint was given the hard task of applying a concours-type red finish to the vehicle.

“When the car was being painted, I would go down to see what work had been done only to see nothing!” Brett says. “It wasn’t that nothing was being done on the car, they had been rubbing it for hours and hours. I never would have thought it was so labour intensive to get a car to that standard.” When looking at the quality of the work done by Bob, Brett is now glad the car took as long as it did.

Paying That Mopar Tax

Once the car was home from painting, Brett thought the hard part was done. It wasn’t until he started to order small parts that he knew it was a long way from over. As every Mopar owner will know, there seems to be a special Mopar tax added to parts, making them twice the price of comparable items for other cars. Brett also had a few issues with small parts being sent in big boxes, the extra freight bills making the situation even worse.

Assembling the giant jigsaw puzzle saw many hours of standing in the garage contemplating what was required, a tale many of us are familiar with. Thanks to the help of friends like Steve, along with Scott, the car slowly but surely took shape.

Amazingly, most of the interior was in great condition, and after a decent clean-up it could simply be reinstalled. One item Brett did choose to replace, however, was the steering wheel. Sourcing a rare Rimblow-style wheel was a mission, but after much time and effort one was finally found. The price tag? Two thousand dollars. For a steering wheel. Gotta love that Mopar tax…

Lucky Score

From the factory this car was fitted with a 318ci engine, one of 1774 convertibles to be fitted with it in 1971 (this was one of only 1857 convertibles made that year, and 3714 Challenger convertibles ever made). When looking for a motor to replace the tired 318, Brett stumbled upon a worked 440 six-pack, the best non-Hemi motor Challengers were ever fitted with. The motor had been built up step-by-step in an American Mopar magazine, and fitted to a 1971 ’Cuda project car. Once the project was completed it did three runs down the drag strip and only a handful of street miles before being sold. The guy who bought the ’Cuda dropped a Hemi into it, so the freshly built high-performance 440 was available. For whatever reason, the motor sat on eBay and no one wanted it. Brett took the plunge and had it sent over. The decision was made not to paint the block as chances were the motor was a dud or would need rebuilding, so it would be painted at the same time.

To everyone’s surprise, the motor turned out to be very strong and well built, meaning a spanner hasn’t been turned on it since. In stock form the 440 six-pack is rated at 380hp. Brett’s one makes 580hp, which is more than enough for the old Challenger body and small tyres. Although not quite sure of the engine’s internals, Brett was pleasantly surprised to see it turn up with Headman headers and a TTI exhaust system.

To get the power to the ground, Mopar specialist Eric Livingstone, from West Auckland Engine Reconditioners, was called upon to build a 727 transmission that would cope with the muscle. Further down the driveline is the stock Chrysler 8.75-inch diff, which has so far coped with Brett’s driving style.

Inside, Outside, Over And Under

Besides the worked motor and R/T graphics, the entire vehicle has been faultlessly restored back to better than original condition. The R/T convertible wasn’t actually made in 1971, but with the 440 under the hood, the graphics are a great touch. Underneath the car, the stock brakes and suspension have both been retained, and rebuilt with as many new parts as possible to ensure they are up to scratch. Covering these are 15×7-inch Rallye wheels, undoubtedly the best-looking factory wheels the early Mopars ever came with.

The Addiction Continues

When building the convertible, Brett spent more and more time researching Mopars, E-bodies in particular. The more he looked, the more he preferred the look of the ’Cuda to the Challenger. So when a ’71 ’Cuda in need of some work came up for sale, he knew he had to have it. That car is now restored to a similar standard to this one.

As luck would have it (though given the cost and work involved, I’m not quite sure if that luck is good or bad), part way through the ’Cuda restoration a ’71 ’Cuda convertible came up. These are among the most desirable muscle cars in the world, so the ‘Buy Now’ was hit there and then without thinking twice. Currently both ’Cudas are in the build, both painted in stunning Dodge Viper yellow with Hemi billboards, meaning, yep, they will both be Hemi-equipped dream machines.

Brett has assured us that those cars will be finished to a standard even higher than that of the Challenger convertible. As soon as they are ready, you will be seeing them on these pages. Now that, my Mopar-loving friends, will be worth waiting for

Specs

1971 Dodge Challenger convertible

Engine: 440 (7210cc) six-pack, aftermarket internals, six-pack carb setup, Mopar ignition system, 2.5-inch Headman headers with full TTI 2.5-inch exhaust system, aluminium radiator

Driveline: 727 transmission, Chrysler 8.75-inch diff

Suspension: Completely original and rebuilt, Chrysler heavy duty springs, standard sway bars

Brakes: Discs/drums — original and rebuilt

Wheels/tyres: 15×7-inch Rallye rims, 245/60R15 and

255/60R15  BF Goodrich tyres

Exterior: Restored

Interior: Stock, Rimblow steering wheel

Performance: 580hp (432kW)

Driver Profile

Brett Wallen

Age: 41

Occupation: Cartage contractor

Previously owned cars: 1972 Valiant Charger 360 small block (he still has it), ’71 ’Cuda, ’71 ’Cuda convertible

Dream car: 1971 ’Cuda convertible ” nearly finished!

Why the Challenger: Loved the look of the car ” till I saw the ’Cuda! Now I am converted

Build time: Two years

Length of ownership: Two years

Brett thanks: Steve ” a mate who spent hours helping put this together. Bob Norris for the great paint job ” Howick Paint and Panel. Scott Tercel ” for all the great panelbeating and reassembling of this car (he’s one very talented panelbeater!)

What’s An E-Body?

E-Body refers to the platform the ’70 to ’74 Challengers such as Brett’s are built on. The same platform is used for same generation Plymouth Barracuda and ’Cuda. Although the platform is the same, the Challenger actually has a 2—inch longer wheelbase than the ’Cuda. E-Body vehicles are among the most desirable muscle cars ever made, especially convertibles, due to the limited numbers they were produced in.

Story: Todd Wylie | Photos: Adam Croy

Over at the Essen Motor Show in Germany this week, spring specialist and muscle car tuner Eibach has gone all nostalgic with its Dodge Challenger Project Car. Returning to a time when American cars were undisputed kings of the quarter mile, the Challenger project car is designed to be reminiscent of the original R/T of 1969.

With its muscular shape, its orange paintwork with two black racing stripes, the set-back radiator grill and the light-band going around the rear, the new Challenger of the SRT8 range certainly looks the part. Eibach also reminds us of the memorable debut with its choice of number plates. With 425 HP the nominal performance of the 6.1 litre V8 engine also corresponds to that of the legendary 426-cid Hemi engine, the most powerful standard motor of the first series.

But sheer power itself is not enough on European roads. So, Eibach has equipped the Dodge with the Coil-Over Suspension System Multi-Pro-R2 from its US product portfolio, to give the challenger crisp handling. With integrated independently adjustable rebound and compression damping with a remote reservoir, the set up is fully adjustable for different driving styles and appearances. Even in the choice of tyres nothing is left to chance with the driving dynamics: in order to make sure that the horses under the boot come to heel properly, wide tyres with extra grip are used to make contact with the road surface. Toyo Proxies are used with the massive dimensions of 265/30 R22.

The Eibach Challenger has also been given a custom-look. The outer rims of the three-piece multi-spoke wheels have been painted to suit the colour of the Dodge, the legendary Hemi-orange. Another special design is the dark powder-coating of the forged star, while the carbon hub cap, on the other hand, is also available in standard production.