Mopar or No Car: SEMA 2017 Was Home to Some of the Baddest Mopars in the Scene

Nov 9, 2017

While Chevrolets and Fords are without question the most popular choices among builders who are constructing display vehicles for the SEMA Show, there’s always a bit of variety whether it’s a model from an import manufacturer, or a domestic manufacturer long defunct. One brand that runs closely behind the Ford and Chevrolet offerings are the Mopars – Dodge and Plymouth primarily. Here’s a rundown of some of the most unique and inventive interpretations of classic and current Mopars on display at the 2017 SEMA Show.

Petty’s Garage 1970 Plymouth Superbird

Constructed as first prize for a contest conducted by the team's sponsor Smithfield

Petty's Garage recreated a street version 1970 Superbird in Petty colors from a Plymouth Satellite

Perhaps one of the hardest to miss cars in the entire show was the Petty’s Garage recreation of the 1970 Plymouth Superbird, with which Richard Petty won eight Super Speedway races that year in its NASCAR incarnation. As a promotional giveaway for sponsor Smithfield, Petty’s converted a stock Plymouth Satellite coupe in a glorious replicant that even Ridley Scott couldn’t tell apart. The Satellite was stripped to bare metal with all offending rust repairs. Added were Dodge Cornet front fenders with air scoops added, a custom back window installed, the three-piece wing with internal bracing in the trunk, and of course the hood extensions and fiberglass nose. The modern drivetrain consists of a 392 CID Gen III Hemi, a four-speed automatic overdrive from SST, QA1 coilovers and big brakes from Wilwood. And of course air filters from K&N.

The Roadster Shop cut the floor off the unibody and fitted with with one of its Fast Track chassis

Ratty on the outside, gnarly on the inside: Jesse James' twin-turbocharged Hemi-powered Polara

Jesse James’ RS 1964 Dodge Polara

The Roadster Shop constructed this interesting concept for Jesse James. The unibody was cut away from this ’64 Polara and all rust repaired. They then installed on an RS FastTrack frame. Under the hood went an immensely powerful Wegner Motorsports twin-turbo Generation III Hemi engine that draws through K&N air filters to produce over 1600 horsepower. The interior appears to have been removed for an early 1960s factory-built drag car with its minimalist interior, while the exterior is the sunbaked patina you might expect but a carefully-planned illusion executed by the Roadster Shop.

1968 Dodge Charger “General Mayhem”

Named after the seemingly indestructible star of the Dukes of Hazzard television program

The General Mayhem, now powered by a 707 HP Hellcat engine, is a car looking for trouble

Constructed over several episodes of the online video series Roadkill, in which the hosts, David Freiberger and Mike Finnegan, introduced the bare shell of the 1968 Charger on episode 23. Over the next few episodes, the Charger was built out and repowered by a 440 CID Mopar V8 that was pulled out of a defunct motorhome. When “off” road testing the Charger on episode 32, it earned it's nickname, based on the heavily stunted but never actually damaged (on TV at least) General Lee of Dukes of Hazzard fame. Someone was then insane enough to provide the pair with a 707 horsepower Generation III Hemi V8 engine out of a Hellcat and the car (and hosts) have been creating general mayhem ever since.

One of the first new-style Charger show cars, it carries many prototype components

Watch out for the sting of this Super Bee, with its 700 CID bottle-fed Hemi powerplant

2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 Super Bee

Ken Ticknor’s Charger might be better named Killer Bee to separate if from the factory stock Super Bee, as its modifications are so significant. Under the carbon fiber hood beats an enlarged 7.0L Generation III chock full of forged internal components that can take the strain of a direct port nitrous system, drawing, of course, through K&N filtration.

Underneath is a full coil-over conversion with stouter sway bars, while the interior has been upgraded to second generation Charger configuration. Not just a straight swap, mind you, but also a recover with over 30 hides of smooth-shaved crocodile with dyed honeycomb. Certainly not a Super Bee that’s easily mistaken from one that is straight off the assembly line.

If you own a Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, or RAM, K&N has the filters you need to keep you classic or soon-to-be classic running at its peak. Whether it’s an air cleaner element for a 1958 Chrysler 300 with a 392 CID First Gen Hemi or a Typhoon air intake system that adds almost 24 horsepower to a 2018 Dodge Challenger Hellcat, K&N has it. And don’t forget K&N also offers cabin air filters, oil filters, and fuel filters for many Mopar applications.

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