{"id":29255,"date":"2019-10-11T18:00:24","date_gmt":"2019-10-11T22:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=29255"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:23:58","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:23:58","slug":"season-closer-fca-design-cc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/events\/2019\/10\/season-closer-fca-design-cc.html","title":{"rendered":"Season-Closer FCA Design C&C"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201c\u2026and all at once, summer collapsed into\nfall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Oscar Wilde<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus was the vibe in Auburn Hills for FCA\nDesign\u2019s final Cars and Coffee of 2019. It seems like just yesterday that the first\nC&C of the summer was hosted by the design team at FCA HQ\u2019s campus north of\nDetroit, but fall was in the air. A week before, at RADwood Detroit, the temps\nhit close to 90 degrees; this Sunday, however, was hovering around 60 degrees. To put a\npositive spin on it, those of us running forced induction on our cars like to\ncall this \u201cboost weather.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"dodge<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite the imminent threat of rain, plenty of\ndope rides from all makes, models and eras attended this one last chance to\ngather together. I left my Dodge Challenger SRT\u00ae<\/sup> Demon at the garage and drove my \u201909 Ram R\/T to show\noff its new headers and custom cat-back exhaust from Stainless Works, all built\na couple of hours away in Cleveland. Late-model HEMI\u00ae<\/sup> engine systems have become a huge\npart of what they create, and they have the sound down to a science! The truck\nsounds incredible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"dodge<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

FCA designers Mark Trostle and Jeff Gale drove\ntheir new Widebody Chargers, a triple nickel Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat and F8 Scat Pack,\nrespectively. They were fan favorites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"dodge<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of favorites, one of mine made an\nappearance: the black and yellow 1320 Challenger SEMA concept from 2011. Based\non a Drag Pack and \u00bc-mile focused, but built for the street, the 426-powered Mopar\nSkunkwerks Challenger is the spiritual predecessor to the 2018 SRT Demon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"dodge<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now, it might be a stretch to call the Spirit\nR\/T the, uh, \u201cspirit-ual\u201d predecessor to the Charger SRT Hellcat, but it kind of\nis. From 1991 to 1992, Dodge built a hopped-up version of its Spirit sedan;\nunder the hood was a 4-cylinder \u201cTurbo III\u201d motor with forged internals, topped\nwith a Lotus designed head, and an intercooled turbo by Garrett. It was\nconnected to a heavy-duty 5-speed trans with Getrag internals and stopped\nquickly with 4-wheel disc brakes. At a sub-6-second 0-60, it was the fastest\nsedan made in America at the time, a car that was quicker than most muscle\ncars, and one of the quickest front-wheel-drive cars built up to that point.\nLess than 1,400 of the R\/Ts were made, making it a rare beast that you don\u2019t\noften run across. Whenever I see one, it requires a shoutout. I\u2019m not sure\nexactly how much this one is modded, but there\u2019s definitely something going on.\nThe side exit exhaust is too cool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"dodge<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Those weren\u2019t the only rad rides on site, so\nmake sure to check out the gallery below. If you were there and see your car\n(or if you have any info on what was done to the Spirit R\/T), make sure to\ncomment too! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"people<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fall has announced its arrival, so get out and\ndrive while you can!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"people<\/figure>\n\n\n\n