Dodge release Challenger Drag Pak

It does what it says on the tin – this Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak is born to cut eight-second quarter mile times.

Available with either a 5.8-litre supercharged or 7.0-litre naturally aspirated Hemi V8 engine, the Drag Pak ditches road-going registration plates for a life singularly at the drag stip.

Official figures aren’t yet released for either engine, but each donk works with a three-speed “race prepped” automatic.

To save weight, the interior is stripped down entirely, with only mechanical indicators such as a Mopar gauge pack included, in addition to twin light-weight racing seats with a safety net and five-point harness.

The 15-inch wheels are wrapped in chubby but skinny 114mm-wide rubber at the front, half that of the rears. Of course size doesn’t matter so much when you’ve got sticky Hoosier drag tyres that would have road-going varieties feeling more like watered-down glue.

The rear suspension is heavily upgraded with stronger mounts for the 4.0-inch solid axle and 9.0-inch aluminium cross member to cope with the most mechanically unsympathetic of starts.

For an official ‘motor’ and ‘parts’ division of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Mopar is clearly having more fun than shifting stock over a counter.

The division says the new Challenger Drag Pak has been “designed for passionate Sportsman racers who compete in nationally sanctioned drag racing series, such as the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA)”.

The US-only models are available in US$99,426 7.0-litre n/a and US$109,354 supercharged guise – and the duo is surely up there as the coolest niche builds from an official vehicle manufacturer anywhere in the world.