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Only in Japan: Dodge van one-make racing series is a thing

Japan seems willing to embrace a level of automotive insanity that many other places lack. Whether it's 1,200-horsepower Nissan GT-Rs blasting through tight, tree-lined mountain roads or advertisements with dances for the Toyota Prius Plug-in, the country definitely has a unique way of expressing a love for autos. The D-Van Grand Prix might be one of our favorite examples yet of crazy Japanese car culture, because the annual, one-make race at the Ebisu Circuit is exclusively for heavily customized Dodge vans. Like many great things, this wonderfully crazy idea came from a little rule breaking. D-Van Grand Prix organizer Takuro Abe was at a track event for a motorcycle racing school, and vans were used to haul the bikes around. During lunch someone came up with the idea for a race. Ignoring that the big machines weren't actually allowed on the circuit, the drivers headed out. The popularity has just grown since then. These days, the racing vans absolutely aren't the stock machines from the event's inspiration. In addition to stripped interiors and track rubber that you might expect, the list of mods for them is a mile long. For every possible advantage, the racers fit them with things like Brembo brakes, cross-drilled rotors, heavy-duty transmissions, and much more. Seeing vans lumbering around the track is very weird at first, but the racers take the competition very seriously. These folks even employ all sorts of little tricks to coax the most from the machines. This is a fascinating motorsports story, but be sure to turn on the subtitles to understand the interviews with the competitors.

2018 Dodge Durango SRT First Drive | Speed, and space for six

We're gathered along with other members of the media at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to drive a trio of new vehicles from Dodge's performance arm. Alongside a pair of SRT Challengers – the Demon and the Hellcat Widebody – the 2018 Dodge Durango SRT towers over the coupes, and is surprisingly menacing to behold. Its proportions may be relatively simple, but its hood scoop, air vents, and aero features let us know that this car is built for performance. A set of sporty wheels and bright Brembo brakes reiterate its purpose. A badge on the fender bearing the number "392," denoting the V8's displacement in cubic inches, gets us thinking about classic muscle. Even with the Demon sitting feet away, just looking at the Durango has us excited to drive it. Our first stint in the Durango SRT takes place on the infield road course at Indy. We had just gotten out of the Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody, driving the same circuit, and we expected the Durango to seem tame by comparison. We were mistaken, mostly. The Durango SRT's seating position feels very upright, particularly due to a helmet that kept us from settling into the headrest. Still, we make ourselves comfortable, able to adjust the steering wheel right where we want it. Everything is in Track Mode – transmission, AWD, suspension, and steering – except for stability control, which is still set to Street. Taking off from behind Indy's famous bricks, throttle tip-in is quick, and the Durango SRT springs to life. The Durango feels fast under wide-open throttle in a straight line, which is impressive consider we had just gotten out of a louder, faster coupe. Dodge claims a 0-60 time of just 4.4 seconds, and it's that kind of acceleration that makes us agree with Dodge's boastful claim that the Durango SRT is a "three-row Charger." Then we take the first corner. The steering feels progressive, if not super tight, but the size and weight of the Durango quickly make themselves known. Body roll reminds us that this is, in fact, a tall utility vehicle, and definitely not a Charger. We lean to the side as the tires dig in, pulling the Durango around its axis and toward the apex of the corner despite the lateral momentum they are fighting. We're hesitant, but the instructor in the passenger seat coaches us to keep on the throttle despite what our inner ear is telling us. The Durango manages to stay stuck to our line as we push harder through the corners than we had thought possible.

Speedkore roaring into SEMA with twin-turbo AWD Charger Hellcat Widebody

Speedkore Performance is nowhere near finished with the Dodge Charger. At last year's SEMA show, the Wisconsin-based tuner showed a 1970 Charger Evolution with carbon and aluminum body panels, and a 996-horsepower Hellcat engine yoked to a six-speed transmission. This year the company teased a profile rendering of a 2020 Charger Hellcat Widebody on Facebook with the line, "All we're going to say is this all-wheel drive, twin-turbo, widebody Charger is going to be unveiled at the Magnaflow booth." Mopar Insiders extracted a tad more information, the first being that we're in for another tuned version of the 6.2-liter Demon Hemi V8 that's swapped its supercharger for twin turbos, and produces more than 1,000 horsepower. Last year, alongside that 1970 Charger, Speedkore unveiled a twin-turbo Hellcat-powered Demon making almost 1,400 horsepower. We don't know yet if this year's Charger will match that output — or exceed it — but we have a benchmark. An all-wheel-drive powertrain divides those horses so the tires have a chance of conquering them. Speedkore's mum on the mechanicals; the firm could have swiped a Grand Cherokee Trackhawk AWD unit and beefed it up, or created its own system.  Some of the steel body panels get carbon fiber replacements, and see those two holes in he front wheel arch? Those are exhaust outlets. MagnaFlow created a custom exhaust with a driver-selectable switch to port gases out the front, say at the track when decibels don't matter, or to send waste through MagnaFlow mufflers and out the rear pipes when silence is required.  The reveal happens at the Magnaflow booth in SEMA's Central Hall on November 5. Those that can't make the show can watch the reveal on MagnaFlowÂ’s Facebook page.