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Dodge Challenger Hellcat driver arrested hellbound at 160 mph

When fisherman catch big fish, they want the world to know about it. That's approximately how the Indiana State Police felt when they busted a 707-horsepower muscle car booking it at more than 160 miles per hour. The ISP were chuffed enough about the catch that they put out a press release titled, "160 Mile Per Hour Hellcat Tamed On The Indiana Toll Road." The Dodge Challenger Hellcat driver, J. Jesus Duran Sandoval, told the arresting officer that he was "just trying to get to Maryland." The incident began just after Trooper Dustin Eggert finished helping a stranded motorist on the toll road at about 7 p.m. Eggert was merging back into traffic when he saw the Hellcat blast past at well beyond the 70-mph speed limit, allegedly weaving through traffic and — shock! — not using a turn signal for lane changes. With a Bandit on his hands, Eggert took the role of Smokey, and just like Burt Reynolds movies, couldn't catch the offender. Seems that Indiana State Police Dodge Charger Pursuit vehicles are speed limited to 150 mph, allowing the Hellcat to pull away. Eggert radioed for officers ahead to look out for the red baron, but received an assist before other LEOs swooped in: Eggert caught up to the Hellcat 11 miles down the road when the red coupe got held up behind two semis driving next to one another on the two-lane toll road. Sandoval pulled over, admitted he was doing a little more than 160 mph, then delivered The "Maryland" Defense unfazed by the fact that Maryland was more than 500 miles from his location. Turns out that 38-year-old Sandoval, from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, was also unbothered by driving on an expired license. The coppers took Sandoval to the LaPorte County Jail and booked him on reckless driving, bond set at $505, court date set for April 2. The ISP said this is the second time in two weeks they've busted someone doing more than 130 on the Indiana Toll Road. It's the second time in a year they've busted a Hellcat doing so — in April 2017, another pilot played Bat out of Hellcat at 158 mph, explaining his speed as a bit of show-and-tell for his friends in the car. View 142 Photos Related Video:

MotorWeek relives '80s coupes with Dodge Daytona, Ford Escort EXP

Get ready for a wave of nostalgia and the rapid realization of the huge progress in performance cars over the last 30 years. For its latest Retro Review, MotorWeek takes a look back at two, front-wheel drive coupes from the '80s that seem to have entirely vanished from the roads today. Both the 1986 Dodge Daytona CS and the 1986.5 Ford Escort EXP were considered affordable, sporty options in their day, but the passage of time hasn't been kind to either of their specs. The Daytona certainly looks the part of a performance machine with a body that's reminiscent of other '80s coupes, like the third-gen Chevrolet Camaro. However with 146 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque from a 2.2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, acceleration wasn't exactly a strong suit. MotorWeek complained about copious torque steer, as well. The optional CS suspension upgrade package on this Daytona was apparently a nod to Carroll Shelby who was working with Dodge at the time. If anything, the Escort EXP withstands the test of time even worse. As a two-seat coupe, you might have expected Ford's engineers to really turn up the performance to fit the sporty image that the exterior conveyed. That didn't really happen, and depending on which model buyers ordered, they got either 86 horsepower with a 1.9-liter engine or the "high-output" version of that mill with 108 hp.

Plymouth Rapid Transit System muscle car concepts going to auction

Over the past decade, Chrysler has built a reputation for amazing custom concept cars based on production vehicles for the SEMA Show and the Easter Jeep Safari. But the company's customization tradition has much deeper roots that include this collection of muscle car concepts headed for Mecum's Indianapolis auction this May. The collection includes three Plymouths that were featured in the traveling display called the Plymouth Rapid Transit System, and a Dodge that appeared at the 1969 Chicago Auto Show. The possible crown jewel of these cars is the 1971 Plymouth Road Runner, and that's simply because the car is completely unrestored with just 1,300 miles on the odometer. Apparently the owner of the shop that built the car for Chrysler got it back after the Rapid Transit System tour ended and took care of it until he later sold it to the late Steven Juliano, whose estate is now selling this collection of cars. Like all of these cars, modifications were mainly visual, but they were extensive. A custom nose and headlight lenses were fitted that added six inches of length, according to Mecum. The car's bumpers were removed completely, as were the external door handles. Recessed hood scoops were added to the hood, and the trunk lid was lowered by four inches to create a rear wing. The taillights were given red, yellow and green lenses like traffic lights. But the best additions were molded Road Runner head marker lights. The interior is mostly unchanged, and the engine is a stock 383-cubic-inch V8 with an automatic transmission. It also has power steering and brakes and the Plymouth Road Runner horn, which makes a "Beep! Beep!" sound like the cartoon the car is named after. 1970 Plymouth Duster View 12 Photos Then there's the 1970 Plymouth Duster in the collection with arguably the best paint scheme. It's bright green with groovy "DUSTER" lettering on the hood and various contrasting panels. It's actually the second scheme the car used, as according to Mecum, the car was built for the 1970 tour and then redesigned for the 1971 tour. The paint is matched with color-coordinated wheels and blue and green floral pattern floor mats. There are unique body changes, too, such as the custom headlight housings, functional brake air ducts up front, fake extractor vents above the rear window, racing-style fuel cap and rectangular exhaust. Mechanically, it has a stock 275-horsepower 340-cubic inch V8 and four-speed manual transmission.