556-Horsepower Mopar Dodge Challenger 1320 headed to SEMA

This year at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Chrysler will unveil four 'image vehicles' with one being a 556-horsepower Mopar Dodge Challenger 1320 that will be street legal and drag race ready.  The "1320" designation might be obvious to some but others will be like huh.  The number 1320 is in reference to how many feet are in a quarter mile meaning Chrysler put 1320 in the name for a reason.  The Challenger 1320 is built from a stripped down Drag Pak Challenger using an all-aluminum Mopar 426 cubic-inch crate motor mated to a six-speed manual transmission rated at 556 horsepower with Mopar designed valve cover and dress-up kit.  The color is another first being an Acidic non-metallic yellow paint with added matte black graphics.

Other modifications on this beast include Mopar police wheels, an adjustable coil-over kit, electric cutout system to bypass mufflers, long tube headers, full cat-back exhaust, Seibon carbon fiber HEMI hood scoop, carbon fiber front spoiler and grille panel/headlight surround.

The interior treatments include Dodge Viper seats, a sport steering wheel and a Hurst shifter.  The rear seat, center console and radio have been removed in order to reduce vehicle weight and maintain the 1320's drag racing theme.

The reasoning behind the Challenger 1320 along with the three other image vehicles at the SEMA show will be to gain interest and attention for Mopar performance parts.

"We will gauge reaction to these vehicles and explore new directions as we develop Mopar performance parts and accessories for our vehicles," said Pietro Gorlier, president and CEO of Mopar Service, Parts and Customer Care.

Check back in early November for the real deal.

Press Release:

Chrysler Group LLC to Showcase Four Mopar Image Vehicles at 2009 SEMA Show

A 556-horsepower Dodge Challenger, a Jeep® Wrangler that transforms into a mobile campsite, a luxury Dodge Ram 1500 and a go-anywhere, do-anything extreme Jeep Wrangler with 40-inch tires. It must be SEMA season.

Four Mopar-customized vehicles will steal the show next month at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas. Mopar's in-house team of creative customizers developed a slew of high-performance image vehicles that feature the brand's innovative performance parts and accessories.

"Our Mopar vehicles demonstrate this company's passion and enthusiasm for the automotive aftermarket," said Pietro Gorlier, President and Chief Executive Officer – Mopar Service, Parts and Customer Care, Chrysler Group LLC. "We will gauge reaction to these vehicles and explore new directions as we develop Mopar performance parts and accessories for our vehicles."

"The aftermarket is not an after-thought in our design studio," said Ralph Gilles, President and CEO--Dodge Car Brand and Senior Vice President--Product Design, Chrysler Group LLC. "Our vehicles are designed and built by the same passionate automotive enthusiasts within our company who are designing and engineering new Mopar parts and accessories for vehicles in our product pipeline."

Led by Mark Allen, Head of Jeep Design, Chrysler Group LLC, the Mopar design team developed four head-turning vehicles for next month's SEMA show.

Mopar Dodge Challenger 1320 Image Vehicle: Exploring a Street-legal Drag Pak Challenger
The Dodge Challenger 1320 began life as a Mopar Drag Pak Dodge Challenger. The current Drag Pak option is a light-weight, stripped-down, race-only, special-order version of the Dodge Challenger designed for competitive drag racing.

For the street-legal design, Mopar's design team took the vehicle back to its roots with styling reminiscent of vintage Mopar muscle, updated with today's technology. The Dodge Challenger 1320 image vehicle, named for the 1,320 feet on a quarter-mile drag strip, features Mopar's 426 cubic-inch, all-aluminum, HEMI® V-8 crate engine that generates 556 horsepower. The engine is equipped with unique Mopar-designed valve covers and a dress-up kit. Mopar's long-tube headers and exhaust system allow the cubic inches to breathe. Electric cutouts allow the exhaust to bypass the muffler system, which exits through custom side pipes for added rumble at the dragstrip. Power is put to the ground via a six-speed manual transmission through a custom Dynatrac rear housing with Mopar Dana 60 internals and a selectable, ARB locking differential. Mopar police wheels, widened in the rear, are strapped with Mickey Thompson street-legal drag radials to provide extra grip at launch. A four-corner, adjustable coil-over kit is provided by Mopar as an option for the Dodge Challenger. This system improves the handling of the vehicle under extreme loads of 556 horsepower and 540 lb.-ft. of torque.