[fal308]

Saw this over on Allpar;
2008 factory built Super Stock Challengers will be for sale at Chrysler dealerships, according to a statement made during the unveiling of the Class 8 Baja trucks at the Mopar booth at SEMA 2007. They said these Super Stock Challengers will be very limited in number, and are not street legal, and you should get on the list now if you want one. They sandwiched this info between talking a lot about new block and head castings for old and newer HEMIs, and unveiling the Baja trucks. They also talked about some kind of HEMI block that was made of "Compacted Carbon", which would be in the Mopar parts range.

[Eddie]

Thanks Barc, is the SuperStock Challenger the one with the Gary Stanton built 6.4 392 Hemi? Painted red white and blue and all black. Dave posted a pic of it a few months back. Is Dodge going to get back in trophy truck desert racing again? Remember 28 time world champ Walker Evans and his mighty Dodge 4x4's?

[fal308]

The red, white and blue one was indeed the first Super Stock car. I forget the et/trap speed but IIRC it was respectable and they said with more tuning they could do better.
These appear to be a factory Super Stock program similar to their 1960s Super Stock program (Sox & Martin et al). I read over on the Dodge website somewhere (couldn't find it again of course ) that these will be turnkey too. RamMan posted this over on the other board
"With 2008 marking the 40th anniversary of 1968 factory Package cars such as the Dodge Dart and Barracuda, Mopar also announced a new factory-direct Dodge Challenger Package car program. A limited number of these race-only Package cars will be available in 2008 through Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep® dealers. Mopar will work directly with the NHRA and the Dodge Challenger assembly plant to give the next generation of drag racers exactly what they need to be competitive at the track. "

As for the trucks, the new stock-style truck would be awesome IIRC they have to be street legal too. Now the unlimited truck is what I would love to have.
I'm kind of suprised that Larry Ragland is going to be one of the drivers, as he has been a stalwart of the chebby camp for years. He even owns a chebby dealership IIRC. The team that Mopar chose is a well-established team, Collins Motorsports. They've also been brand x for quite also.
I wonder if they asked Rod Hall first, he was the Dodge 4x4 (old class four) driver for many years and Walker Evans was the two wheel drive (old class eight) factory driver. Walker retired from desert racing and now has gotten into rockcrawling in a big way. He's got a killer set of beadlocks that he sells. Someone bought his molds and supposedly sells fiberglas for the older trucks too!! Rod Hall is still in desert racing. He runs Hummers and has a Hummer dealership in Reno/Sparks.
Actually Dodge got out of desert racing in the early '90s IIRC so they could concentrate on their NASCAR program. The big plus is that their NASCAR block is very stout and is supposed to be a great platform on which to build.

[Eddie]

Cool, Thanks Barc, interesting, I hope they do well!

[fal308]

Edmunds has an article and video of the SS Challenger making a run at Mopars at the Strip
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Fe ... eId=120457

[fal308]

Dodge Challenger Super Stock Drag car to be available within weeks! According to oh20, a Challenger 800 pounds lighter than the production version will be available for racing. This will be a special factory package built for NHRA-sanctioned Stock Eliminator drag racing. Features will include a unique serial number sequence, variations of current Hemi and 5.9 liter Magnum engines, automatic or manual transmission, and special lightweight features including:

* Lightweight front fascia support system
* Composite lift-off hood with functional scoop
* Lightweight cooling module with electric fan
* Special modified drop-out front crossmember
* Lightweight drag race-only front brake assembly
* Seats to accommodate six-point harness
* Special Body-in-White modified for drag racing

This is one serious package that does away with such frills as windshield wipers, power windows, HVAC System, sound deadener and rear seats to create one lightweight and intense racing machine. Additional details will be available next week. Stay tuned to Allpar.com ... and please post this URL: http://www.allpar.com/cars/dodge/challenger.html

[fal308]

How cool woud this look in your driveway?

[christer]

today I got this information in a mail. I don´t know if it is old news or not.

Is Dodge Prepping a Challenger Super Stock for the Drag Strip?
Written By: Evan McCausland
Filed Under: Chicago Auto Show, Coupes, Dodge, Future Vehicles, Motorsports January 31st, 2008 8:45 AM

We’re only a few days away from the official launch of the Challenger revival at the Chicago auto show, but we’re already hearing rumblings that Dodge may be prepping a competition version hotter than the top-end SRT8 model. The folks at Allpar.com claim that in the next few weeks, Chrysler will pull the wraps off the “production” Challenger Super Stock, a race-prepped version intended for use at your local drag strip.

From what Allpar reports, we’re expecting a near-clone of the Challenger Super Stock concept (pictured), originally shown at the 2006 SEMA show. We hear variants of the current Hemi (we’re guessing the SRT8’s 6.2-liter variant) and the 5.9 Magnum V-8 will lie underhood, but the rest of the car is extensively stripped to reduce weight.

Don’t look for luxuries like radios or HVAC; even features like wipers, sound deadening and seats other than the driver’s won’t come with the car. Front brakes are supposedly replaced with lightweight units, while crossmembers and fascia supports are replaced with lighter parts. Electric fans are added to the cooling system, although the large scoop on a lift-off hood won’t hurt airflow, either.

All in all, we’re told the Super Stock will shave 1320 pounds off the Challenger’s weight, a decent reduction for those who want their new E-body to hit the strip from day one. We’re all too happy to see the Challenger take to motorsports, and despite the brand mis-match, we’d love to see one in Sox & Martin colors.

[fal308]

Would be great to see a road racer package like the Cobra R package too.

[Eddie]

Very cool! I wonder if any one will order one and keep it like Chuck Comella or Kenny Montgomery. Both those dudes still have their 68 and 65 SuperStockers that Ma built all those years ago and even campaign them in NHRA Competition at some events. What class would they run in? I would street it if I had one! YES a Road Race version would pique my interest!!

[dave-r]

I like the lok of the concept Super Stocker much more than the street version.

[Eddie]

I agree Dave. Kinda like the factory A-990 and LO23 WO23 SuperStockers with Race 426 Hemi Power. I also think they should use the new alloy GENIII Hemi block MoPar has been displaying at SEMA and other shows. It reportedly can be taken out to 500 cubes in a very small package. But a Viper GTSR race only version would be cool too, for RoadRace, American Sports Car,(ACR Club racer), series, ect..I bet those race only cars wont be cheap either. The Viper GTSR was 325k+more for spares.

[fal308]

Eddie, you're right about the $$$ Vipers but they were built so the richboy boy-racers could go out and play. Chrysler marketing hit the nail on the head with that package. I should imagine that most of those ACR coupes did, at the least, some agricultural racing and quite a few got up close and personal with an immoveable object at some point in time. That would allow the boy-racers to buy more parts so they could go and wreck again

[Eddie]

Eddie, you're right about the $$$ Vipers but they were built so the richboy boy-racers could go out and play. Chrysler marketing hit the nail on the head with that package. I should imagine that most of those ACR coupes did, at the least, some agricultural racing and quite a few got up close and personal with an immoveable object at some point in time. That would allow the boy-racers to buy more parts so they could go and wreck again

So true! It's really cool that MoPar is even considering building Race Only Package cars as back in the day!(They are teetering on bankruptcy,again, from what I hear)

[fal308]

I don't know if Chrysler is as bad as everyone is making it out to be. The company was bought for a song, 10 billion USD if I recall. The real estate alone is worth more than that. Then there is Chrysler's technical expertise (what's left of it after DB stripped it). They've also gotten several billion dollars in investor money to tide them over. They're paring down their offerings and dealerships.
Cerberus is pretty good about picking winners. After all they are in it to make money. My big concern is Cerberus cutting up the company and selling the profitmakers and dumping the losers and taking a writeoff. They've already sold off Chrysler Financial and rumors keep popping about the engineering departments.
Hopefully they put more money into the company with the intention of bettering Chrysler instead of the intention of chopping and selling.

[Eddie]

Your last paragraph has me very 'concerned' Barc. My brother the Bank President,(Remember Mr. Drysdale? Yeah thats my bro) He seems to think the exact senario you just described..chop/sell/profit! Time to get that Challenger NOW my man!! (I hope I'm dead wrong aboot all this)

[fal308]

Unfortunately, Cerberus has a reputation for doing just that The Chrysler buy is their biggest score yet. That also means it's their riskiest also. If they think they can make a profit, they'll stay in the game, if not they'll bail. Remember, they are not beholding to stockholders, so a decision could come literally on a moment's notice. There is a good side to this though. Being answerable only to a board of directors means decisions can (and are) being made very quickly. I've read several accounts of major decisions that used to take months that now take minutes. Nardelli may not make friends but he isn't afraid to make decisions. One I remember is he went to the proving grounds to drive some ChryCo vehicles. After each drive he made decisions on interior upgrades (he thought they were cheap-looking). He also axed the PT Cruiser convertible and other vehicles in a short meeting with the top ChryCo brass. The meeting was reportedly about how they could save $$$. Each person was given something like 10 minutes to defend their product. In the old days, axing a product would take months. It would have to go through committees, focus groups, vice presidents, huddles and probably the Catholic Church Now, like I said, it takes minutes.

[Eddie]

I hope you are correct. My doctor thinks that India/China will put the American car companies out of business, after they conquer the Japanese first! www.tatamotors.com

[3erLow]

Are there any News regarding the new Challenger Super Stock?

Is there any Dealership where to order one?

Thanks,
Christian

[fal308]

Don't know if they're available yet but when they are, I should imagine you will be able to order from any Mopar Performance dealer.

[fal308]

Allpar has updated the Super Stock information.
Dodge Challenger Super Stock Drag car coming! According to oh20, a Challenger 800 pounds lighter than the production version will be available for NHRA-sanctioned Stock Eliminator drag racing. (TripleJackInGA wrote that this was announced during the unveiling of the Class 8 Baja trucks at the Mopar booth at SEMA 2007. They also talked about a HEMI block that was made of compacted carbon, which will be in the Mopar parts range.) An official announcement is due this summer, as the package is currently in the process of being sanctioned by the NHRA. Chrysler was kind enough to send a video, which makes it fairly official.
These Super Stock Challengers are not street legal but will apparently come directly from Chrysler. Features will include a unique serial number sequence, variations of current Hemi and 5.9 liter Magnum engines, automatic or manual transmission, and special lightweight features including:

Full details at
http://www.allpar.com/cars/dodge/super- ... enger.html

[jh27n0b]

Maybe Drew or anyone in the Denver area can check this out for us ravenous Challenger drag racing fans.

fanshttp://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080707/ ... tml?.v=101
Bob

[jh27n0b]

Oops, try this link. http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080707/clm044.html?.v=101