Mopar and Dodge launch new Challenger Drag Pak
Owe someone a ten-second car, but want to impress? Welcome the 1,200hp Drag Pak...
There are three things you're guaranteed to get out of any good SEMA show: big trucks, tuner specials and drag cars. Ford got the ball rolling yesterday on the latter front with its 800hp Mustang 'Dragon Snake', and now the Dodge/SRT/Mopar performance triumvirate has shown up with this, the Dodge Challenger Drag Pak.
The Drag Pak is the latest in a now established line of turnkey dragsters to be offered by Dodge which, since 2008, has offered customers the chance to own a ready-to-race, NHRA-approved machine. New for this iteration, though, is the option to separately purchase "a variety of modular kits to install on their own Dodge Challenger drag car."
The last such car arrived in 2015 with a choice of supercharged 354 or naturally aspirated 426 HEMI engines, making it capable of eight-second quarter mile sprints out of the box. Don't think that ability is just for show, either, the model won last year's NHRA Factory Stock Showdown World Championship, driver Leah Pritchett claiming three wins and recording the first official seven-second run in the class.
So what does the new one offer? Well, there are no output figures as yet, just the knowledge that its supercharged 354-cubic-inch Hemi V8 comes paired with a body-integrated SFI-spec roll cage, certified for runs in the 7.5-second range. So make of that what you will. A T400 three-speed transmission with a Kwik-Shift manual shifter, lightweight driveshaft and fully-programmable power distribution centre complete the powertrain modifications.
Elsewhere, the rear axle assembly uses adjustable coilovers, four-link suspension with wishbone and an anti-roll bar. The front setup, meanwhile, features a unique engine cross member to lower the centre of gravity and improve weight distribution, and also includes Bilstein double-adjustable struts. Front and rear racing brakes, Racetech seats and a new Drag Pak lightweight wheel and tyre package keep car and driver alike pointing safely in the right direction, as do the wheelie bars and parachute mount, which are integrated into the chassis as standard.
"Mopar and Dodge SRT collaborated to make this factory production-based Challenger Drag Pak not only a forced to be reckoned with at the strip but also an instant collectable for Mopar enthusiasts," said Mopar's Mark Bosanac. "Our legacy has been won at the track by the women and men who pour all they have into being the best. This new Challenger Drag Pak gives them the tools to stay in front of the competition."
Production is set to be limited to just 50 examples, with ordering and pricing details to be announced at a later date. Whatever it costs, though, we're glad it exists.
And another Challenger at SEMA has an even more colourful story:
"Twice the car was found in parking garages, and both discoveries resulted in police chases."
https://www.autoblog.com/2019/11/06/dodge-challeng...
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