Can’t decide between a classic Dodge Charger and a modern Challenger, but don’t have enough room in the garage for both? Then this carbon-bodied, backdated Challenger Hellcat might be the answer to your performance prayers.
Called the C68 Carbon and the work of Exomod Concepts, it’s a 2022 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye that’s been radically modified in the style of a 1968 Dodge Charger. That means it has the running gear, luxury equipment, reliability and handling of a modern Dodge muscle car with the looks of a classic one.
Well, some of its looks. We’ll let you make your own mind up about how aesthetically successful you think the conversion is, and instead focus on how Exomod actually managed to pull this conversion off, a process that involved cutting away the exterior sheetmetal from a brand new 2022 Challenger and grafting on an entire carbon fiber exoskeleton.
The Challenger’s 116-inch (2,946 mm) wheelbase is almost identical to a ’68 Charger’s, but other dimensions and angles, like the rake of the windshield, the overhangs and the 4-inch-greater (102 mm) body width, are totally different, which explains why the C68 looks like a dead ringer from some angles, and dead in the water from others.
Related: Your Brand New Dodge Hellcat Has Probably Already Had A Parking Boot On It
But with all of the classic ’68 Charger styling cues – the recessed grille and back window, hidden headlights, dual door coves, and four round taillights – present, it’s just about possible that a non-enthusiast might mistake this modern Dodge for an updated original.
Until they look inside, that is. Bar some stitching on the seats, Exomod hasn’t messed with the interior, which means it doesn’t look anything like a classic Charger’s, but is far more luxurious. And since no original Charger, including the legendary 426-cu-in (7.0-liter) Hemi, could outdrag a modern Challenger Hellcat, no one is going to complain that there’s a modern supercharged V8 under the hood. The Hellcat motor makes the same 807 hp (818 PS) as the final Redeye Black Ghost Challengers, but it might as well be more because the carbon bodywork has cut the curb weight by 400 lbs (181 kg), ensuring this mash-up would mash a stock Hellcat to a pulp.
This 2022 SEMA star is being auctioned at Mecum’s Las Vegas sale in November, and though there’s no guide price on the listing, you can bet that the sale price will be deep into supercar territory. Exomod’s website says a new-build C68 starts at $325,000 for a Scat Pack Challenger, rising to $395,000 for a Platinum Package car based on a Hellcat Redeye like the auction example.
It’s certainly an interesting car, although for that money we could buy a new Hellcat, a peachy original ’68 Charger and have money left over to build a bigger garage to fit them both in. But Exomod obviously thinks there are enough people who already have those cars and want something different, and says it’s looking at expanding the range to include a 1969 Charger Daytona and 1971 Dodge Demon, again using the Challenger as a base.
Would you rather have a backdated modern muscle car like Exomod’s C68 or an updated old one like the Speedkore Charger that Stellantis designer Ralph Gilles has bought?
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