Street-Legal 2,500 HP Dodge Charger Daytona: Wicked Wednesday Presented by the All-New Nitto Recon Grappler™ A/T
It might have twin parachutes, wheelie bars, and 2,500 HP, but this amazing Dodge Charger Daytona can still pickup the eggs and milk.
The original Dodge Charger Daytona is one of the most iconic cars in automotive history. They are nearly impossible to miss with the slanted nose and huge wing. They also are known for their big Hemi power that was used to win the Talladega 500 in its first ever race. An original car is tough to find but they are great inspiration for custom builds. The car you see here is not just a regular custom build. This might be THE custom Dodge Charger Daytona build.
This week’s “Wicked Wednesday” presented by Nitto features a 2,500 horsepower Dodge Charger Daytona. Despite the extreme power and performance, the car remains street legal. The owner/builder is a gentleman named Wally Elder. What Elder wanted to do was to build the most extreme, over-the-top streetcar. It sure looks like he accomplished just that. A video detailing the build was recently posted on the Barcroft Cars YouTube channel. Below are some of the highlights.
Not His First Rodeo
Elder built a Dodge Charger Daytona before. He finished that car back in 1991. Then he sold it about two years later. He now wishes he never sold it. How many of us have stories like that? However, as much as he liked his first Daytona build, there were some things he felt he didn’t accomplish with that build. So that was his motivation to build the Daytona we see here. He wanted to prove to himself and that he could really build what he envisioned in his mind. Plus, this new build would help ease the pain of missing his previous car.
Body First
For this build Elder began with the body of the car. “Pretty much assembled the back half of the car. You know the sheet metal part of the car, on the floor of my shop. Started building the floor of the chassis and putting the drivetrain in it. And then I would say the final stages would be building the engine.” Explains Elder. And what an engine it is. The 526 Hemi has a high-helix blower and a carbon-fiber injector. Power is said to be around 2,500 horses. This is connected to a three-speed transmission. Elder estimates that this is a 7-second car. And it is street legal. Although Elder admits that is it scary to drive.
On the Outside
Because it is street legal you will find mundane touches such as windshield wipers on this car. It also has an automotive glass windshield instead of Lexan. The roof and quarter panels are steel. The doors, fenders, hood, and trunk lid are all fiberglass. And of course, you can’t miss that telltale wing out back. For the track it runs twin parachutes and a wheelie bar. The headlights work and the parking lights are original Daytona parking lights. The car just looks nasty from the outside. What a wonderful beast.
Serious Interior
Sure, it may be street legal but is it not the most practical car to use to drop off the kids at school. First, they would need to climb over the fully caged interior to get into the Racetech seats. The dash is a fully custom sheet metal piece. All the aluminum bits inside were designed and built by hand. Above the drivers head is a switch panel that controls things like the water pump, fuel pump, and cooling fans. The headlights and even the turn signals are mounted up where the switch panel is. It looks like a stripped-out racecar inside, but it does have everything needed to keep it legal. It even has a set of cup holders. Although good luck keeping your Apple Crisp Macchiato from going into orbit when you launch this thing.
On the Road
It is a streetcar so that is where Elder drives it. It does attract a lot of attention as you can imagine. Not all of that attention is good as local law enforcement becomes a bit curious when this thing goes flying by. But it feels like nothing else on the road. Elder states that this is the quickest car that he has ever driven. Not many of us drive 7-second cars so we have no problem believing that claim.
Video
This car is what “Wicked Wednesday” is all about. Check out the video below and we are certain that the word wicked will come to mind. This is a fantastic build done by a man with the passion and talent to make one of the most extreme Dodge Charger Daytona streetcars that you will ever see.
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