2010 DODGE CHALLENGER SRT8 LIMITED EDITION
BY DAVID COLMAN
It’s not often that you get to drive a factory prototype 4 years before the production version comes out, but in the case of the Dodge Challenger, I had the privilege of being one of the first journalists to drive the mock-up show car years before the final product hit the street. That first drive in the prototype was under whelming, as the show car had a dashboard with fake painted gauge faces, a shifter with just forward and reverse gears, and plastic bodywork that creaked and groaned at 20mph. Since the test car was a million dollar only child, crashing or thrashing it was not an option. But the slick way it looked said it all, and whetted my appetite for the real version to come.
Challenger is an important product for the newly reconstituted Fiat-Chrysler group. Much as Mustang is Ford’s image car and Camaro is GM’s, the Dodge Challenger plays Chrysler’s siren song, especially with Viper production ending. Musclecar lovers who fondly remember the original Challenger that starred in the 1971 cult movie Vanishing Point will not be disappointed in this hottest version of the reborn Challenger, the SRT8 Limited Edition. Read the rest of this entry »
Circumstances shuffled Andy Lally into a championship-winning career in sports car racing, but a mutual commitment between TRG Motorsports owner Kevin Buckler and his lead driver have resulted in Lally’s lifelong dream coming true via a guaranteed start in the Daytona 500.
“To get a chance to race in the sport’s biggest race is an absolute honor,” Lally said. “Especially at my age, and having been seasoned in enough sports and divisions to know that not everybody gets a shot, I know I’m one of the most fortunate people on the planet.”
Buckler said … Details
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Corvette Racing history was again made in France when Lance Miller fulfilled his father’s dream of returning the class-winning #3 car to The 24 Hours of Le Mans for the 50th anniversary of its historic class win. A feature-length documentary and a book on this great human interest story called The Quest are both in the works from Michael Brown Productions  … Pictures & Details
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On Jan. 22 a 1963 Pontiac ambulance sold for $132,000 at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Ariz. The price is notable because the gray Bonneville was expected to sell for much more than that–it was said to have carried President John F. Kennedy from Air Force One to the capitol after he was killed.
But a series of questions about the car’s authenticity meant that an estimated $1 million price tag was greatly reduced.
Ray Wert, editor-in-chief of the car blog Jalopnik, which first reported the inquiry, says that while JFK’s mysterious ambulance not a case of fraud per se, it does raise questions about due diligence in the classic car world.Â
Indeed, just like in the art world, authenticating a classic car is essential for establishing its value. The ambulance didn’t meet its pricing expectations, but many other cars last year did … Details & Pictures
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