Dodge Challenger with V10 Viper Motor: Wicked Wednesday Presented by the All-New Nitto Recon Grappler™ A/T
In 2011, Dodge took a Challenger and stuffed a V10 Viper Motor in it. This 600-plus HP beast was never driven on the street–until now.
The Dodge Challenger has been tearing up drag strips for decades. The Viper was more of a road course car but also could more than hold its own on a drag strip. So just imagine what you would have if you combined the two. Well in 2011 you didn’t have to imagine. Dodge put a V10 Viper motor under the hood of a Challenger and the result was a Mopar Drag Pak for the ages.
This week’s “Wicked Wednesday” presented by Nitto features one of the 70 Drag Pak Challengers that were built in 2011. These cars are full-on racers. They are not street legal. They don’t even have a VIN, they were sold on a bill of sale only. AutotopiaLA made a trip to Fusion Luxury Motors to take a closer look at this forgotten piece of Mopar history. A video covering all the details of the build along with some rare footage of it being driven on the street is posted on the AutoptiaLA YouTube channel.
Nastiest Mopar Racecar
This car was made by Dodge to compete in NHRA Stock and Super Stock drag classes. This was the biggest tool in the shed in 2011. What made it special is what is under the hood. Lifted directly from the Viper lives an 8.4-liter V10 motor. Power figures were never officially released but the motor in the Viper made 600 horsepower.
This car has no emissions equipment and race headers, so the figure is probably considerably higher in this application. That power went to a drag racing-specific 2-speed automatic transmission and a solid rear axle. The car was capable of posting quarter-mile times in the mid 9-second range and trapping above 140 mph.
To get those times, sure it had to have big power, but it also had to ditch a lot of the gear that you would see in a regular Challenger. Obviously, there were no back seats or air conditioning. But the car also ditched the rear and side view mirrors. There was no power steering, no windshield wipers, no underbody heat shields, and so on. This car was built to travel 1,320 feet in a straight line as fast as possible.
You want to pick up milk at the store, drive something else. All this Mopar goodness started at $85,512. An extra $7,950 would have got you the competition package. That would add an 8-point roll cage, safety harness for the race seat and a window net. Pricey for a car you can’t drive on the street. But a reasonable outlay for a fully built racecar.
Breaking the Law
Yeah, it is not street legal, but come on. You have access to this thing, you gotta take it out for a little spin, don’t you? A little spin is about all you could do anyway. The fuel cell only holds a couple gallons of race gas. And we don’t think this car will rival a Prius when it comes to mpg estimates, so you aren’t going too far.
But wherever you do go, everyone will know you are there. This car is loud as hell. It would give Deep Purple a run for their money in the decibel department. The Challenger with the V10 Viper motor and race headers and that cam lope sound is just fantastic.
Out on the road you really can’t push the car much at all. First, with no mirrors you can’t really see what is around you. But more then that, the car is just too powerful. Even at partial throttle it spins the tires almost everywhere on non-prepped street surfaces. But who cares? You are driving one of the nastiest Mopar racecars on the street. The fun factor is off the charts.
Conclusion
Dodge will sell you a new 2021 Challenger Mopar Drag Pak. And there is no doubt that it too is an awesome racecar. But there is just something extra special about that V10 Viper motor under the hood of the 2011 model. Check out the video below for yourself and let us know if you agree.
Join the Dodge Forums now!
