Steel Muscles for a Muscle-Car... Eibach Has Built a Spectacular Dodge Challenger Show Car With its Partners

ESSEN – November 28, 2008: American muscle-cars used to be the undisputed kings of 1⁄4 mile, although the star cars of the 60s and 70s were able to be knocked off the throne just as easily on windy terrain. Here they had to admit defeat to opponents with much less power but more agility: Times change, as the Dodge Challenger Project Car, presented by Eibach at the Essen Motor Show 2008, demonstrates. The 21st century muscle car has won back the considerable charm of the original generation and is also faster, more manoeuvrable and more threatening to its opponents. Curtain up!

With its muscular shape, its orange paintwork with two black racing stripes, the set-back radiator grill and the light-band going around the rear, the new Challenger of the top SRT8 range is reminiscent of the original R/T of 1969. Eibach also reminds us of the memorable debut with its choice of number plates. With 425 HP the nominal performance of the 6.1 litre V8 engine also corresponds to that of the legendary 426-cid Hemi engine, the most powerful standard motor of the first series. The powerful two-door was imported for Eibach by USCars24.de and converted according to the applicable German lighting and licensing regulations.

But sheer power itself is not enough on European roads. Therefore, Eibach has equipped the Dodge with the Coil-Over Suspension System Multi-Pro-R2 from its US product portfolio, to give the challenger crisp handling. Because of sufficient residual comfort, long journeys can be completed in the car without a problem. Thanks to the integrated independently adjustable rebound and compression damping with remote reservoir, everyone can find their own perfect setup and the right alignment for their driving style and desired appearance. Even in the choice of tyres nothing is left to chance with the driving dynamics: in order to make sure that the horses under the boot come to heel properly, wide tyres with extra grip are used to make contact with the road surface. The Toyo Proxes T1R offers not just a high amount of grip thanks to its optimum mix of the silica-tread, but also allows above-average co rnering stability. Tyres are used with the massive dimensions of 265/30 R22. This ensures that the gigantic torque of 569Nm is converted to thrust virtually without loss of power. It would be a shame, if, when you put your foot down, wads of smoke were to cloud the view of the Botticelli III 9.5 x 22 inch OZ-rims. The Eibach Challenger has also been given a special custom-look. The outer rims of the three-piece multi-spoke wheels have been painted to suit the colour of the Dodge, the legendary Hemi-orange. Another special design is the dark powder-coating of the forged star, while the carbon hub cap, on the other hand, is also available in standard production.

While the command “pedal to the metal” puts the wheels straight into ecstasy, it also makes an uproar typical of US-cars. But it’s not just the gas pedal that can make excellent music: The Eibach Challenger is also equipped with a multimedia unit from Alpine Electronics, which has been installed by the specialists of XTON from Dortmund, Germany. The heart of the talented devices is the 2-DIN moniceiver IVA-W505R, an attractive combination of a DVD-capable car radio and a flat screen. Action movies such as “Vanishing point”, the movie which stands as a monument to the original Dodge Challenger 1971, suit the system perfectly. Barry Newman himself would certainly have liked the portable Blackbird navigation unit PMD-B200P with its docking concept. The 16-cm R-series loud speakers screwed into massive steel rings off er proper crash, boom and bang in perfect harmony, a 25cm subwoofer in the boot functions as an assistant for the low spectrum. The whole arrangement is fired up by one power amplifier, the PDX-5. The innovative IMPRINT processor PXA-H100 guarantees harmony in the sound range. After the installation of the hi-fi unit it automatically adjusts the sound parameters to the interior. All together the Eibach Dodge Challenger is a muscle car, which is not just miles ahead of its ancestors, but can also show modern cars a trick or two.