Mopar Struts Its Stuff on the Strip

The annual SEMA show in Las Vegas is a virtual Mecca for automotive and aftermarket enthusiasts. SEMA, which stands for Some Exciting Mopar Attitude, is the annual showcase of technology, trends and products representing the $36.7 billion automotive parts and accessories industry.

We’ll pause here for a moment to see if we managed to slip that one by … OK, SEMA actually stands for Specialty Equipment Market Association, but there was Some Exciting Mopar Attitude on the strip in Vegas late last year.

SEMA is no less than the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world with in excess of 2,000 exhibitors. SEMA draws the industry’s brightest minds and hottest products to the Las Vegas Convention Center each year, and attracts more than 100,000 industry leaders from more than 100 countries.

Mopar makes a big splash at SEMA each year (to the tune of 15,000+ square feet), unveiling hot new performance and accessory products along with knock-out concept cars and usually a few surprises thrown into the mix. Join us, now, as we take a posthumous tour through the Mopar Alley at the 2007 SEMA show.

HEMI® Evolution

Perhaps no other name strikes fear into the hearts of mere mortal racers than HEMI®. HEMI power dominated drag racing through the 1950s and 1960s at quarter miles across the country. To help commemorate the HEMI heritage, Mopar unveiled its HEMI Evolution program at SEMA, which will carry the HEMI tradition forward for an entirely new generation of automotive enthusiasts.

As part of HEMI Evolution, Mopar will offer a full line of products for second generation HEMIs such as the 426, along with go-fast parts for the new 5.7L and 6.1L HEMIs.

“What we’re doing with HEMI Evolution is taking HEMI tradition, applying today’s technology to it, and making it available to new generation of automotive enthusiasts,” said David Hakim, Program Manager for Mopar Performance Parts. “The HEMI name is a cornerstone of the Mopar brand, and we’re going to assure that today’s generation understands and appreciates that.”

Some of the new Mopar Performance products for second generation HEMIs include:

• Aluminum HEMI Blocks
• Cast Iron and Aluminum HEMI Heads
• 426 Intake Manifolds
• Race Roller Rocker Systems

For the new 5.7L and 6.1L HEMIs, Mopar offers up:

• Aluminum Blocks
• CNC Ported Cylinder Heads
• Dual Quad Intake Manifolds
• Conversion Kits

Trail Mix

In recent years, Mopar has focused its performance business on “Muscle,” “Street,” and “Speed.” Muscle for owners of classic Chrysler muscle cars, Street for today’s tuner and sport compact enthusiasts, and Speed for professional and grassroots racers looking for the ultimate in authentic performance products.

Now, Mopar is adding “Trail” to the mix.

“Essentially, we realized something was missing,” Rob Richard, Mopar’s Director of Global Parts, Sales and Service Marketing, told a SEMA press conference held with Kenny Sargent of the hit TV show Speed Freaks. “We knew we offered a full line of authentic performance products for Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge vehicles, but Mopar’s off-road prowess is almost as legendary as the HEMI name.”

To fill the void, Mopar will now offer authentic off-road products for a variety of older and current Jeep and Dodge vehicles. Two new key Mopar team members—Steve Houtman, Jeep Performance/Dodge Off-Road Powertrain Manager, and Keith Montone, Jeep Performance/Dodge Off-Road Suspension/Steering Manager—will work to expand Mopar’s line of “Trail” performance parts.

To whet your appetite, here is just a sampling of what you’ll be able to hit the off-road with:

• Long-Arm Suspension Kits
• Two-Wheel-Drive Low-Range Kits
• Lowering Kits
• Dana 44 Axle Assemblies

To emphasize its commitment to off-road adventure, Mopar also announced at SEMA it will return to off-road competition. Collins Motorsports will field a Mopar-sponsored Dodge Ram Off-Road Trophy Truck in the SCORE International Off-Road Racing Series. Brian Collins, Larry Ragland and Chuck Hovey will share driving duties.

The trio will add to Mopar’s off-road heritage, which includes legendary names and champions including Rod Hall and Walker Evans, who competed under the Mopar and Dodge banners in the 1980s.

“Big Daddy” Rides Again

To commemorate his long association with Chrysler, Mopar and Wynn’s, “Big Daddy” Don Garlits supercharged a Mopar 392 HEMI crate engine with a vintage 6-71 blower to power his historic Swamp Rat XII dragster. After much work and collaboration with Mopar, Garlits unveiled the beast—dubbed the Mopar Wynn’s Charger Dragster—at last year’s SEMA show.

Garlits began his adaptation with his historic Swamp Rat 12-A, a front-engine fuel dragster he ran in the 1960s. Mopar provided the 392 HEMI crate engine and related technical assistance for the project. To give the engine classic AA fuel dragster treatment, Garlits bolted on a blower and converted it to nitro. The result is a modern HEMI engine with all the nostalgic parts and components from Garlits’ glory days.

“We’re in exciting new territory with this engine,” said Garlits. “We’ll creep up on it—run cacklefests for now, then get into burnouts later.”

With Wynn’s sponsorship, Garlits restored the chassis and hand built the special parts to adapt the engine to run on nitro with an 80 percent mix.

Dodge Challenger Package Car Program

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the famous 1968 HEMI Dart and HEMI Barracuda “package” cars. These purpose-built vehicles allowed drag racers to be competitive at the track with a factory-built Dodge or Plymouth drag cars.

“The ’68 package cars represent a significant part of Mopar’s history,” added Mopar’s Rob Richard. “A watershed moment in drag racing history, they represented a major milestone in the evolution of the second-generation HEMI powerplant.”

Mopar’s popular HEMI Challenge racing series that operates in conjunction with the NHRA features these classic 1968 Super Stock HEMI Barracudas and Darts.

To help commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1968 package cars, Mopar announced at SEMA the launch of an all-new package car program based on the 2009 Dodge Challenger. The new package cars will be equipped with competition-bred versions of the venerable third-generation HEMI engines. But don’t blink—only a limited number of Challenger package cars will be available.

“This new package car program is yet another way we’re uniting significant events in Mopar’s history with a new generation of enthusiast,” Richard said.

What A Concept

The Mopar Underground design team was on a mission:
To develop a lineup of “tricked, tuned and customized” Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles for the 2007 SEMA show.

Mission accomplished.

Since its creation in 2002, the Mopar Underground Team—led by Ralph Gilles, Vice President of Jeep/Truck CFM Design—has been developing vehicles that not only allow for customization, but encourage it.

Here’s a look at the 2007 stable of concept vehicles:

Dodge Dakota MX Warrior
The Dodge Dakota MX Warrior is a design exercise intended for the younger action-sports crowd. This authentic motocross-themed concept is a cooperative effort with Scott Waraniak. Waraniak is a design student at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit and an American Motocross Association (AMA) District 14 motocross racer. The design team let Waraniak loose with his “splatter” graphics theme. To protect the front and rear, the Chrysler metal shop fabricated custom steel bumpers and an integrated Warn winch mounted on the front bumper. The truck also features custom rock rails. In the rough and tumble world of professional motocross, the Dodge Dakota MX Warrior will take no prisoners with its potent 4.7L Magnum V8 engine.

Jeep Wrangler
Ultimate with 392 HEMI from Mopar The name pretty much says it all on this concept. Beginning with the all-new Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon®, the Underground design team set out to create the best of the best—a combination of high style and the best off-road capability every offered by Jeep. The suspension is enhanced with a three-inch lift to accommodate the huge 35-inch BFGoodrich Mud Terrain tires. The exterior is chromed out thanks to Mopar.

Dodge Avenger Tuner-Stormtrooper
The Dodge Avenger-Stormtrooper is a sophisticated sedan designed to appeal to adult tuners who have an appreciation for technical superiority, exhilarating performance and unprecedented luxury and style. The technical, yet organic nature of the Stormtrooper costumes from Star Wars inspired its execution, according to Mopar Underground designers. Power is unleashed by a digitally-tuned 4.0L V6 that packs the punch of a velvet hammer.

Jeep® Wrangler JT
Built from the military version of the Jeep Wrangler, the Wrangler JT is designed to show just how flexible the new Wrangler architecture can be. First revealed at the 2007 Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah, the Wrangler JT dominated the impossibly steep climbs and breathtaking descents of the famous Hell’s Revenge Trail.

Dodge Ram BFT
Wait, wait. Before you decide what BFT stands for, what it really stands for is “Built for Towing.” The Dodge Ram BFT is designed to be the ultimate workhorse for hardcore truck buyers. The design team placed a standard cab on a 160-inch Ram Heavy Duty wheelbase frame so a 9.4-foot chopper fits snugly in the 10-foot box. Inspiration for the Ram BFT comes from a Banks-enhanced 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel engine mated to an automatic trans.