{"id":87176,"date":"2025-04-22T10:04:26","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T14:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=87176"},"modified":"2025-04-22T10:04:36","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T14:04:36","slug":"geoff-fauvers-dodge-avenger-rt-the-radical-trooper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/owners-clubs\/2025\/04\/geoff-fauvers-dodge-avenger-rt-the-radical-trooper.html","title":{"rendered":"Geoff Fauvers Dodge Avenger RT \u2013 The Radical Trooper"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While many members of the Brotherhood of Muscle own Challengers, Chargers, Durangos or other HEMI\u00ae<\/sup> engine-powered full-size machines, there\u2019s also a tight-knit crew of front-wheel-drive Dodge fans keeping the flame alive. Over a decade ago, the Dodge Avenger R\/T gave enthusiasts a sporty alternative to the Charger – a midsized sedan powered by the same 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 that motivates the Challenger SXT. Offered in both front- and all-wheel-drive, the Avenger R\/T delivered 283 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque in stock form, making it a fun, fuel-friendly daily driver that carved out its own following.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Geoff Fauver was one of those drivers – but he wasn\u2019t content with stock. When he got behind the wheel of his 2014 Avenger R\/T, it wasn\u2019t long before he started modifying it. Today, more than ten years after the car rolled off the line, it\u2019s one of the wildest Avengers you\u2019ll ever see – decked out in full Star Wars regalia and oozing Empire attitude. Nicknamed the \u201cRadical Trooper,\u201d Fauver\u2019s Avenger takes inspiration from the Imperial Stormtrooper, blending white paint and black accents with intricate details and custom touches. But this wasn\u2019t the plan from day one.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI definitely didn\u2019t expect to take the Avenger this far,\u201d Fauver says. \u201cBut it\u2019s been a blast. It kind of took on a life of its own.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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From the beginning, the car wore a GALCT1C plate – a subtle nod to the galaxy far, far away. Fauver and his wife Lara tossed around stormtrooper ideas early on, but it wasn\u2019t until their daughter stopped using the car that things really started moving. \u201cOnce I got it back and started driving it as my spare car, the ideas just kept flowing. At first, I thought I\u2019d clean it up and do a few subtle things to make it stand out from all the other Avengers out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A few details turned into full-on theming: TIE Fighters on the hood, victory markings for downed Rebel ships on the fenders. Fauver started bringing it to cars and coffee events instead of his 392, and the response surprised him. \u201cPeople were saying, \u2018That\u2019s a clean Avenger,\u2019 or \u2018You don\u2019t see these at shows much.\u2019 That\u2019s when I realized – maybe this is my new project car. Time to bring the full vision to life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Now, the Radical Trooper pulls double duty as a fun daily and a full-fledged show car. But for Fauver, it\u2019s more than just a passion project – it\u2019s a legacy in progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe more I do to the car, the more heads it turns. That\u2019s part of what keeps me going,\u201d he says. \u201cBut the main reason? This is probably going to be my grandson\u2019s first car.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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That grandson, now eight years old, got his Mopar\u00ae<\/sub> start at age one – standing in the driver\u2019s seat of the 392, gripping the wheel, pressing the start button. He\u2019s been to national meets like WAM3 in Dallas, helps clean the car before shows and proudly tells people it\u2019ll be his someday. \u201cHe\u2019s got the bug,\u201d Fauver laughs. \u201cHis specialty is cleaning the wheels. That\u2019s his job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The car started life with Z-striped cloth seats, Royale leather bolsters, red stitching and Dodge\u2019s Sun\/Sound Group. Painted Bright White and priced at just $28,330 when new, it was a solid mid-sized sedan. Today? Every inch of it has been touched. Inside, outside, under the hood – it\u2019s all been transformed. But the evolution didn\u2019t happen overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a gradual but consistent build,\u201d Fauver says. \u201cI\u2019m always working on something or planning the next step. When you\u2019re pouring more money into a car than it\u2019s worth on paper, you know it\u2019s a passion build.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some of the details are subtle. Others are just plain wild. Take the custom headlights – built over six weeks and costing over $1,000 in parts alone. \u201cWho does that for an Avenger? Nobody. But for me, it\u2019s about the details.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or the roof aero spoiler – originally made for a 10th-gen Civic, chopped in half to integrate with the Avenger\u2019s roof antenna and lit up like a starship thruster using hidden LED rock pods. Brake? It glows red. Turn signal? Yellow. \u201cIt fits the whole Star Wars vibe perfectly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Even the small mods get the same treatment. \u201cI\u2019ll try something cheap just to test the look – like Amazon canards – and then redo it with a custom one-off version that matches exactly what I envisioned.\u201d From handmade ABS plastic aero to strategically placed Empire logos, every detail serves the theme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a look at what\u2019s been done – so far:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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ENGINE BAY & PERFORMANCE<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n