American tuners Galpin Auto sports have created two customs for the U.S. Air Force to wheel out on their 2009 Super Car Tour.  Both cars will be used as recruitment tools for the military outfit.

First up is the matte-pearl white Ford Mustang X-1, with an interior modeled after a fighter jet cockpit.  The muscle car seats one, but even that could be reduced: the driver sits in an ejection seat “just in case.”  Pedals are on either side of the center console, with an oddly placed flight stick in the middle to replace the steering wheel.  Three “advanced instrumentation panel(s)” take up quite a bit of space, and look to cut off some of the view outside the windshield.  But who cares?  The monitors on the panels show night- and thermal-vision almost making the windshield obsolete!

Along with other mods, three-valve Ford Racing heads are used inside the 4.6 liter engine to bring the output up to 500 hp.  Vertical doors are meant to give a more “jet-like” feel.

That feeling also translates to the Dodge Challenger Vapor thanks to the “radar-absorbing” stealth-black paintjob.  The military aspects only begin with the exterior look; stealth exhaust lets the vehicle run in near silence, but the driver can open the headers to create a surprise aggressive engine noise.  The Vapor requires biometric verification to gain entry to the driver compartment.  Once inside, the driver can view the night and thermal vision as it is projected onto the windshield.

However, if the driver is unable to get to the car, he or she can still command the vehicle from a remote control system modeled after the Air Force’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.  The remote system can be accessed worldwide through the internet.

Both cars recently were introduced in Austin, Texas by Galpin’s own Mad Mike.  Mad Mike, a fixture on “Pimp My Ride,” said, “If it was not for the U.S. Air Force, I would not have the knowledge and skills that enables me to stand where I am today.”

Eibach showed off their tuned version of the Dodge Challenger by getting actor Vin Diesel to drive it to the German Premiere of Fast & Furious.  FF4 marks Diesel’s return to the film franchise after first playing Dominic Toretto, the truck hijacker you want to be friends with.

Suspension wizards Eibach first showed off their Challenger in Essen late last year.  Working from a Dodge Challenger R/T, they improved the suspension with the intention of building a car that sped through corners as well as it goes flat out.  The company attached a fully adjustable suspension, and tacked on 22-inch OZ wheels with big, wide Toyo sport tires around the rim.  Inside, they also put an Alpine entertainment system with many speakers and two LCD monitors.

A man of many words, Diesel only said “Nice car,” when asked about the Eibach Challenger.  The car is also being taken around on a short tour of German nightclubs; tour dates are in the press release below.  Fast & Furious opens in most worldwide markets between 2 and 16 April.

At the 2008 SEMA show we saw the release of Mr Norm’s Super Challenger and Super Cuda. These two modern muscle cars are now in full production at Mr Norm’s facility in Florida, USA. Since SEMA, the cars have been doing the rounds at various motor shows and events such as the Detroit Autorama and the San Diego Automobile Show.

Although the two cars are based on the 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT-8 they have different characters. The Super Challenger is inspired by the 1971 Mr. Norm’s Super Challenger Super Fuel Funny Car and the Super Cuda gets its inspiration from the 1970 Cuda.

The Super Challenger makes do with 650hp while the Super Cuda takes 900hp. Both 6.1-litre HEMI V8s are supercharged. The Super Cuda has orange paintwork with matte black stripes.

Fitted with the base Super Challenger are a number of features like body side graphic with logo, an embroidered logo on seat backs and “Barracuda” seat inserts, and Mr. Norm’s Super Challenger badge on the rear spoiler. The total base package comes to US$3,599. For extra cash you can get parts like Mr. Norm’s Super Challenger front spoiler paintable overlay at US$399.00, a front spoiler, rear spoiler and lower rear fascia with carbon fiber appliqué for US$1,999.00 and Corsa Cat Back dual exhaust system going for US$1,695.00.

The suspension can be lowered by 1.5 inches for US$999,99 (labour is US$280) and there is a choice of 20-inch or 22-inch wheels ranging from US$3,299 a set of four. Tyres will set buyers back at least US$547.40 for a set of 245/45ZR20 Pirelli Scorpion Zero Assimetricos.

We all know the new Dodge Challenger is a big hit in the States, but the car has shown a steady following from European tuners. This particular car comes from German tuner KW and shows how the company’s suspension can turn the standard car’s mediocre ride quality into something special.

The car features a hydraulic suspension that offers an improved ride with the ability to lower the ride height almost instantly thanks to a push of a button. It works in conjunction with KW’s coil-over struts in order to provide superior handling and enhanced road feel. Other changes include 22-inch HRE wheels outfitted with low profile tires and slick Lamborghini-style scissor doors.

Since 1958 the Hurst Performance Vehicle Group has partnered with OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to build some of the finest performance cars. Their latest offering, a matte gold-coloured Hurst 50th Anniversary Dodge Viper, sold at auction for US$275,000. Only 50 of these cars are expected to be produced.

What makes it special, apart from the auction price, are the black chrome wheels measuring 19-inches and 20-inches front and rear respectively, a dash-mounted plaque with the buyer’s name on it, an adjustable suspension system and a Hurst HARD-DRIVE gold anodized pistol-grip shifter amongst others.

The beneficiary from the car’s auction is called, Victory Junction, an all-year camping environment for children who are ages 6 to 16 with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses. The camp aims to provide a fun, educational and life-changing entertaining experience for these children in a medically-sound manner.

Aussie-turned-American auto tuner outfit RDP Performance showed their true drag racing colors when they unveiled their new Dodge Challenger at the Perfromance Racing Industry Show in Orlando last month. The twin-supercharged muscle car is the latest nine second car from the company.

As you can see in both videos the hood has been raised with a section cut out, making the pulley system visible. The custom superchargers are mounted to a Hemi with the piston stroke increased, producing 1,000 horsepower in total.

The two nitrous kits do not hurt, either. But to keep the car from hurting you, a chrome roll cage and racing seatbelts have been added. As you can hear in the video, the custom exhaust and mufflers gives the car a pretty distinct sound.

Customers can inquire about the RDP Performance Dodge Challenger by contacting them through their web site.

Although the DaimlerChrysler merger was not the financial success story analysts expected, one cool thing did come out of it: Dodge’s ability to join forces with McLaren on a one-off concept called the 2006 ASC Diamondback Viper. It debuted two years ago at the auto show in Detroit, cost $750,000 to develop, and had a 615 horsepower McLaren engine under the hood.

ASC stands for American Specialty Cars, a company that had previously developed finely tuned and engineered body parts for many of the world’s manufacturers, including Chrysler and McLaren. They built a customized hood for this Viper concept with a “trupeted air intake system with individual port throttles,” and carbon fiber body panels.

The lighter weight and more powerful engine means a faster 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds, 0.4 seconds quicker than the 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 coupe. Suspension has been lowered by 1.25 inches, and three-piece forged aluminum 19-inch wheels are included. The odometer shows just 55 original miles.

If you happen to have $295,000 lying around you can purchase the concept for $455,000 less than what it cost to build. The 2006 ASC Diamondback Viper could be a great investment for anyone looking to have a truly one-of-a-kind supercar.

Eibach chose to cross the Atlantic on a muscle-car-finding mission for their stand at Essen. They sailed back with a Challenger. Based on the Dodge Challenger R/T, a few mods have been made such as a fully adjustable suspension and 9.5 x22-inch OZ Botticelli III-wide rims with 265/30R Toyo Tires Sport tyres wrapped around.

Eibach used the 431hp/ 317kW and 569Nm 6.1-litre block whose standard straight line speed is estimated at 5.3 seconds 0 – 100km/h. Those suspension tune-ups were made to improve the muscle car’s handling so its straighline speed is matched by its cornering ability. Top velocity of 250km/h can be attained from this plant/ orange car combination.

Where ICE is concerned an Alpine multimedia system is found inside; two Moniceiver DVD monitors and a good number of speakers.

Dodge’s Mopar performance division is ready to dress up your Ram pickup, and to help illustrate this fact, it will be showing a Mopar Underground-modified Ram Sport concept truck at the SEMA show this year. Painted a deep blackberry hue, the Ram Sport with Mopar’s Street package features a lowered and leveled body over 22-inch Alcoa forged wheels and a dual exhaust that lets the 390-horsepower HEMI V8 snarl. It’s also got a full body kit, including sill extensions, a dual-snorkel hood and a chin spoiler. Inside, Mopar ambient lighting, suede and leather seats and a DVD headrest system with kicker-audio are used to dress up the cabin. Steering wheel and door pulls have been trimmed to match the seats. Mopar didn’t neglect the bed, either; underneath the hard tonneau cover are more ambient lighting, a bed rug and LED accent lights under the rails. Hot stuff, indeed.

All of the parts featured on the Mopar Street Package concept truck are available from Mopar.

Snake eyes, low chin, 22-inch running gear. This is the SEMA-bound Dodge Challenger Blacktop, a Mopar Underground creation which began its life in the form of a 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T. The guys did what they are known for; made a few changes here and there. These include the custom-made spoilers and front bow which gives it a ‘chin’ look. An interesting “black on black” stripe has given the car its nickname, Blacktop.

Then those massive 22-inch wheels that should take away a lot of the cornering performance potential, but give the car a nice wide stance for great straight line stability. Rolling on these are Dunlop tires measuring 265/35 R22 front and 305/30 R22 rear. We don’t know what this Blacktop Challenger can do yet but Mopar components are fitted to enhance the HEMI V8, bits like cat back dual-exhaust and cold air intake.

At SEMA just look for the black, striped Dodge Challenger with a number of red enhancements, including a red leather interior.