Despite the continuing upward spiral in the cost of fuels, now is a good time for enthusiasts because of the outrageous offerings of car manufacturers. If you look at the power outputs of today’s high-performance cars, 500 horsepower is not that uncommon anymore. But even before the current crop of high-powered cars, the American domestic market had experienced such a horsepower war in the 60s, with the Big Three selling what were in effect factory racers. Now, to our obvious benefit, those factory rods seem to be making a comeback, with the Dodge Challenger V10 Drag Pak being a prime example.
This car is unique because this particular variant is the only one, for now, equipped with a 512 cubic inch V10 engine. Engine output for this factory drag car is rated at 600 horsepower. A truly limited edition model (only 70 will be produced), this factory racer is equipped with only a 2-speed automatic transmission, which shows that its focus is really for the quarter mile. Other exclusive features include competition wheels and tires, a solid gear axle, integrated roll control, complete gauge package and a race-oriented fuel system complete with fuel cell. It also has no windshield wiper assembly, no aircon, rear seats and power steering. Even the underbody heat shields have been deleted. Windows are polycarbonate and the transmission tunnel has been modified to clear the solid axle differential and one-piece drive shaft. The rest of extensive the modifications are what a typical hot rodder would do if this were a project car.
In early April, one owner (Dave Thomas of Pennsylvania), drove his Challenger to a quarter-mile time of 9.43 seconds at 143.9 mph. Both the time and trap speed were enough to break the records for the AA/SA class in the stock category. The AA stands for factory cars with the highest horsepower-to-weight ratio in the stock class, while the SA stands for Stock Automatic. With this record, a new round in the Big Three’s horsepower war has begun in earnest.
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