New Dodge Challenger Gets Classic Charger Makeover With Carbon-Fiber Body

Dodge never hid the fact that the Challenger it launched in 2008 took direct inspiration from its 1960s-era predecessors. It was never a direct match, but the slab-sided muscle car looked distinctly classic even among its retro contemporaries, and a new mod is available to make the latest Challenger Hellcats look even more like their historical counterparts.

Aftermarket specialist eXoMod Concepts has a complete carbon-fiber widebody kit available for the Challenger SRT Hellcat. It built one example called Quicksilver, which took 1,500 hours to build. It makes the modern muscle car look like the 1968 Charger. The new body is four inches wider than the original Charger, but the carbon fiber reduces the overall weight, cutting 400 pounds from the vehicle.

While eXoMod Concepts gives the vehicle a custom engine compartment, the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 continues to make 807 horsepower. It pairs with Dodge’s eight-speed TorqueFlite transmission, which retains the full drivetrain warranty from Dodge.

The builder did upgrade the brakes, giving the vehicle six-piston Brembo brake calipers with 15.7-inch drilled rotors. The clampers hide behind custom-built 20-inch Forgeline wheels that measure 10 inches wide at the front and 12 inches at the back and are wrapped in Nitto NT555 rubber.

Currently, only one carbon-fiber Challenger exists, but you can get yours for $345,000. Quicksilver is part of the company’s C68 Carbon series. The company plans to build 10 additional Carbon series cars with improvements based on its original series. Company CEO Rick Katzeff called it “the best of both worlds.”

Dodge will cease Challenger production in December. It has had an impressive production run, launching in 2008. The automaker made several improvements to the model over the last 15 years, wringing more power out of the chassis over the years, culminating in the Demon 170 with 1,025 hp and 945 pound-feet of torque when running on E85 fuel.

The Demon makes just 900 hp and 810 lb-ft without the special drink, but the full 1,025 hp will send the 170 to 60 miles per hour in a claimed 1.66 seconds. It can complete the quarter-mile in 8.91 seconds at 151.17 mph. The Challenger starts at $96,666 and can reach $133,421.