{"id":70264,"date":"2023-05-10T10:36:20","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T14:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=70264"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:19:50","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:19:50","slug":"meet-the-first-dodge-challenger-srt-hellcat-widebody-convertible-owner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/owners-clubs\/2023\/05\/meet-the-first-dodge-challenger-srt-hellcat-widebody-convertible-owner.html","title":{"rendered":"Meet the First Dodge Challenger SRT®<\/sup> Hellcat Widebody Convertible Owner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During Dodge Speed Week back in August 2022, Tim Kuniskis introduced the world to the 2023 Dodge Challenger Convertible, which is being offered for the first time in the modern era of the nameplate. Prior to 2023, there hasn\u2019t been a convertible Challenger ordered from the factory since the 1970s, but to end the current generation, Kuniskis and his team have created a soft-top option for the legendary muscle car. To do so, Dodge has teamed up with Drop Top Customs, and after each new Challenger is built at the Brampton Assembly Plant as a traditional hardtop, it is shipped to Drop Top Customs where it is converted into a convertible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Based on the title of this piece and the fact that 2023 is\nthe first modern era model year in which you can order a Dodge Challenger\nConvertible from your local dealership, you might expect this piece to be about\nsomeone who ordered and received a 2023 model, but that is not the case. The\nyellow Dodge Challenger SRT\u00ae<\/sup> Hellcat Widebody Convertible shown here is owned by\nBrian Harlow and it was the first SRT Hellcat Widebody model to be built by\nDrop Top Customs when the package was first introduced. You see, while Drop Top\nCustoms has just started working with the Dodge brand to offer a\nfactory-ordered option, the Florida-based company has been building convertible\nChallengers since the modern era was introduced for the 2008 model year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, the first modern Dodge Challenger Convertible built by Drop Top Customs \u2013 known as Coachbuilders Ltd back then \u2013 made its grand debut at the 2008 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. It is the green-and-black car shown below, and I was there to witness that debut almost 15 years ago. Since then, Drop Top Customs has built scores of topless Challengers for private owners before connecting with Dodge to offer a convertible through the factory ordering system for the final model year of the legendary Dodge muscle car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n