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Driving the Jeep J6, Shakedown Challenger and other Mopar concepts

Mopar has been a one-stop-shop for factory-backed performance modifications and accessories on FCA products for a long time now. You want a 707-horsepower engine for your old Plymouth Belvedere? Mopar has you covered with the Hellcrate. Maybe you want a lift and off-roading lights on that newly-bought Wrangler? Mopar can accommodate those wants (or needs, we don’t judge) as well. We get to see some of the companyÂ’s weirdest creations every now and then, but rarely do we get the opportunity to drive the FCA Mopar concepts. ThatÂ’s what made this past Woodward Dream Cruise so special: We got to rip some of MoparÂ’s finest and most recent creations up and down Woodward Avenue. Everything from a 1971 Challenger restomod to the brand-new Easter Jeep Safari J6 concept was in attendance, so letÂ’s get right to it. Mopar Woodward View 6 Photos 1967 Plymouth Hellvedere This car is near the pinnacle of what you can do with off-the-shelf Mopar purchases. It was only a humble 1967 Plymouth Belvedere before Mopar dropped the 707-horsepower supercharged V8 from the Hellcat into the engine bay. Sound ridiculous? Yeah, it is. Other parts of it are new as well, including the disc brakes. Good call. However, Mopar didnÂ’t remove the classic car charm from the entire driving experience. The steering, for example, is surely as slow and inaccurate as it was back in 1967. That doesnÂ’t help matters when youÂ’re trying to put 707 horsepower to the pavement with less-than-ideal rear rubber. Floor it in damn near any gear of the Tremec six-speed, and the front end rises straight up as the rear kicks sideways with the force of many mules. There are no electronics such as traction control or stability control to step in and wrangle the car into submission. But hey, who wants them, anyway? The question remains: Should you buy a Hellcrate engine for your classic? If money were no object, the easy answer is yes. Have at it so long as you love smoky burnouts and excessive amounts of horsepower. Just make sure you know how to deal with that much power before you stick your right foot in it.   Dodge Challenger Shakedown View 15 Photos 2016 Dodge Shakedown Challenger Concept WeÂ’re going downhill in horsepower with this restomod, but the drivability and ease of driving goes way up. Dodge showed this “Shakedown” concept at SEMA awhile back, and as with most concept cars, getting a chance behind the wheel is a special opportunity.

The Dodge Challenger 1320 is rarer than the vaunted Demon

Dodge stopped making the 840-horsepower Challenger Demon after the 2018 model year, and it filled the gap the coupe left in its range with a slightly tamer variant called 1320. While it wasn't a limited-edition model, production figures released recently cement its status as a future classic. 1320 references the length of a drag strip, which normally checks in at 1,320 feet, and the name speaks volumes: It was built to go flat-out for a quarter mile. It offered all of the go-fast goodies found in the Demon, including a transbrake, a line lock, an SRT-tuned suspension, plus bigger brakes provided by Brembo, and it swapped the supercharged V8 for a naturally-aspirated, 6.4-liter eight shared with the Challenger 392 and tuned to 485 horsepower. It wasn't quite as quick as the Demon, but it remained a race car barely street-legal enough to put plates on, so it occupied a shallow niche. Dodge made 1,054 examples of the 1320 during the 2019 model year, according to Mopar Insiders. Of those, 1,026 units were sold in the United States, and the remaining 28 stayed in their home country of Canada. As for colors, 232 enthusiasts chose Pitch Black, making it the most popular. At the other end of the spectrum, 13 buyers ordered Maximum Steel, which is the rarest color offered to the public. One 1320 was painted in Yellow Jacket, and another in Billet, but they were pre-production cars. To add context, the firm capped Demon production at 3,300 units, including 300 for the Canadian market. The 1320 is returning for the 2020 model year, so it might ultimately become more common than the Demon, but it remains a rare edition that will turn heads at high-profile classic car auctions in a few decades' time. If you've got one, race it, but pamper it off the track, and hang on to it. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.    

This Dodge Challenger was stolen, used in police chases and recovered all in the week before its SEMA debut

Most of the drama in a SEMA build is in getting the car ready in time for the big show. That was all Quintin Bros Auto and Performance was expecting when they built a supercharged Dodge Challenger Scat Pack with custom carbon fiber body parts, aftermarket wheels and upgraded brakes. But unfortunately, a bigger drama happened in the week leading up to the show. And it was the worst kind. As part owner Pete Quintin told us, the car was shipped out in a small trailer, and while the delivery driver was spending the Monday night a week before the show at a hotel, a thief showed up in a stolen pickup and made off with the trailer and the car. It wasn't an easy task, either, as the delivery driver had parked the trailer in with the truck blocking it. The thief used his own (well, not his own, but you know what we mean) truck to shove the trailer hitch out where he could access it, then hooked it up and took off. Several miles down the road, he parked, opened up the trailer and vanished in the Challenger. The following morning, the delivery driver discovered the theft, and Quintin Bros immediately informed the owner so that a police report could be filed and a search could begin. The trailer was found not too long after, thanks to someone who was following the story on social media. But obviously the car was missing. Folks on social media were also helpful in tracking the car, in addition to the help of the Las Vegas Police Department (LVPD). What followed was a week of chasing the car down. Twice the car was found in parking garages, Quintin said, and both discoveries resulted in police chases. The second chase was the most dramatic, with a police officer stopping after noticing the car. The thief was in it, and he bolted upon seeing the officer. He powered the Challenger right through the nose of the police car, damaging both. The chase culminated on the highway, where Quintin told us 14 cars were in pursuit, and the thief got up to 150 mph. Police ended up calling off the chase because of the danger. But the car was damaged enough that the thief eventually abandoned it at one last garage, where it was picked up on Thursday. Once the car was recovered, things gradually began looking up for the Quintin family. Pete Quintin said that as soon as LVPD found out the Challenger was meant to go to SEMA, the department got the car out of evidence impound as fast as it could so the shop could show off the beat-up car.