Not one to be left out of the 2011 SEMA Auto Show extravaganza, Chrysler, together with its resident tuning house, Mopar Underground came with a bevy of vehicles to Las Vegas.
One of their offerings is the Dodge Challenger SRT8 ACR, a track focused, yet street-legal machine that drew its inspiration from both the Challenger SRT8 392 and the Viper SRT10 ACR. Coming with plenty of aesthetic and performance upgrades, the SRT8 ACR was no doubt one of the cars to steal the show in SEMA.
On the outside, the SR8 ACR was given a white body that comes with a charcoal painted roof and a flame red stripe running the length of the car, a design that pays homage to its departed Viper SR10 ACR counterpart. The paint finish is then complimented by a carbon fiber hood, a rear deck lid, a rear spoiler and tail lamp surrounds, red painted mirror caps, a red "ACR" fender badge, and a set of 20" black five-spoke alloy wheels with matching brake calipers.
Inside, Mopar continued the modifications on the Dodge muscle car by taking out the rear seat bench and replacing it with a roll bar and a fire extinguisher. To make the car lighter, Mopar added carbon fiber door panels to go with a new pair of bucket sport seats with openings for a racing harness, an SRT three-spoke flat-bottom steering wheel, an SRT gauge cluster, a custom bright pedal kit, Mopar Drag Pack center stack, and a carbon fiber center console finish.
On top of all of that, Mopar also gave the SRT8 ACR some performance enhancements in the form of a new coil-over suspension, front-and rear-strut tower braces, short-throw shifter, front splitter, cat-back exhaust, and custom exhaust headers.
UPDATE 11/07/2011: We have added live images from the SEMA Show. Find them all in the picture gallery!
To give the Mustang Boss 302 everything it needs to be a full-fledged racer, Heinz Motorsports gave the muscle car an extensive tuning program that encompasses all breadths of the car’s overall set-up.
The exterior body of the Mustang was treated to a number of body panels from Steeda including the company’s Q-Series functional front fascia, hood, and rear spoiler. In addition to that, the car’s rear fascia was taken care of by 3d Carbon while PPG was responsible for dressing up the Mustang Boss 302 with a Sport Classic Gray finish with all the matching racing decals. Finally, Heins Motorsports gave the Mustang Boss 302 a new set of 18" Forgeline wheels wrapped in Nitto NT01 tires.
The muscle car’s chassis was also given a thorough racing make-over, highlighted by a laundry list of Steeda-sourced equipment, including a biller sway bar mount kit, competition springs, a bumpsteer kit, and Tokico D-Spec adjustable front and rear shocks.
Inside, the Boss 302’s usual interior was taken out in favor of a full on racing set-up, complete with a custom carbon fiber dash and door panels, Sparco Pro-ADV seats with a competition 6-point harness and steering wheel, a Safecraft fire suppression system, an ATL safety fuel cell, and a roll cage that was built to comply with FIA standards and regulations.
Then there’s the engine make-over. Already carrying a powerful 5.0 liter V8 engine that produces 440 horsepower and 380 lb/ft of torque, Heins Motorsports added a custom Borla race exhaust, a Steeda cold air intake, and an Exedy clutch to round out its race-spec overhaul.
SEMA is different from just about every other major auto show on the planet. Its purpose is to shift focus from the automakers to the aftermarket companies that have become popular because of their custom works on some of the world’s most popular vehicles. Sure, some brands will be at the 2011 SEMA Auto Show showing off their works too, but for the most part, they share equal billing with the tuning companies.
Many vehicles had their time to shine in the SEMA spotlight, but none more so than the plethora of Camaros and Mustangs - and even the Mopar-tuned Challenger. Every year, there’s a number of muscle cars that are given the royal treatment in terms of tuning, and this year has been no different. Maybe it’s the Americans’ obsession with good ol’ fashioned muscle, or maybe it’s the fact that all of the major muscle car makers are US born and bred. Either way, it was muscle car mania in Vegas, and we were there to take them all in.
Check out our list of SEMA muscle cars after the jump!
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After months of teasing, Chip Foose and WD-40 have finally unveiled their 2011 SEMA Cares charity car. After the Chevrolet Camaro and the Ford Mustang each had their turns in 2009 and 2010, the 2012 Dodge Challenger SRT8 gets its turn.
The vehicle, which was designed by legendary hot rod designer and TV star Chip Foose, comes with a distinctive look that pays tribute to the style of both Foose and WD-40. It comes with a custom two-tone, yellow-and-black BASF paint mixed by Chip Foose himself. It also has a Street Scene/Foose Design body kit, a Hotchkis suspension system, a Magnaflow exhaust, a new set of one-off MHT/Foose wheels, high-performance Brembo brakes, and WD-40-branded Katkzin upholstery, among other upgrades.
Under the hood of the Challenger is a 392-cubic-inch Hemi V8 engine that produces 470 horsepower and mated to a Tremec six-speed manual transmission.
“The WD-40/SEMA Cares Foose Challenger pays tribute to the technicians, aftermarket professionals and auto enthusiasts like Chip Foose who have trusted WD-40 Multi-Use Product to get the job done in their shops and garages,“ said Tim Lesmeister, vice president of marketing at WD-40 Company.
After it wows the crowd at the 2011 SEMA Auto Show, the WD-40/SEMA Cares Challenger will be auctioned off at the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction from January 15-22, 2012 in Scottsdale, Ariz. Proceeds of the sale will go to Childhelp, an organization that provides services to abused and neglected children, and The Victory Junction Gang Camp, which provides life-changing camping experiences to special needs and chronically ill children.
"You’ve seen the Camaro and the Mustang with those beautiful WD-40 brand colors, and this year we’re going to build something that will turn even more heads," Foose said. "I can’t wait to build it, drive it and then auction it off for a great cause at Barrett-Jackson."
The SEMA Award’s "Hottest Car" title only came about a year ago and for its maiden year was handed out to the Chevrolet Camaro. This year, the "Hottest Car" Award was finally announced with the award going to...the Chevrolet Camaro. That’s right, in the two-year existence of the award, the Camaro has won both of them.
In recognizing the most accessory-friendly vehicle that’s based on the volume of aftermarket parts that are showcased at SEMA, it was pretty obvious that there clear choice for SEMA’s "Hottest Car" was the Chevrolet Camaro. It has been a hit since it first arrived in the market a few years ago, proving once again that it stands on a completely different level compared to just about any other vehicle on the market today.
“After more than two years on the market, the Camaro continues to inspire creativity and Chevrolet is thrilled to see that expressed in all the wonderfully personalized examples here at the SEMA Show,” said Chris Perry, vice president, Global Chevrolet Marketing and Strategy.
“[The] Camaro has always been a car customers love to personalize and we are doing all we can to support them and the aftermarket industry with parts and accessories that help turn their dreams into reality.”
