Reprint of SRT Tom's original article that blocked me but not others from commenting. An exciting rumor is that there may be a hardcore Challenger ACR, in 2021, to replace the discontinued American Club Racer Viper. Even though the Challenger ACR has already been presented, in 2011, at the SEMA Show with SRT8 goodies as a one-off concept, Dodge has failed to come up with a production model. Insider “Muther” told Allpar.com that we should look forward to two variants, one with the Hellcat Redeye engine and the other with the 392 HEMI. He stated, “The supercharger is not allowed in some amateur racing series or classes, so the 392 makes sense” in this application. “Carbon fiber will replace steel or aluminum wherever practical,” and word has it the high position wing, large splitter, big Brembo brakes and manually adjusted suspension are heavily influenced by the Viper ACR with the Extreme Aero Package. The goal is to approach the same on-track pergormance as the Viper and compete with the Shelby GT500 and ZLI 1LE. Muther also claims the street-legal, single-seat machine may tip the scales at less than 4,000 pounds. At the Road America circuit in Wisconsin, the Challenger ACR is said to be “within two seconds of the Viper ACR Extreme Aero Package.” The Viper ACR was first introduced in 1999. For the 2016 model year, the Viper ACR retailed at $121,395, as opposed to $92,500 for the entry-level specification. In addition to carbon-ceramic brakes from Brembo and special tires from Kumho, the American Club Racer dominated the racetrack with 1,500 pounds of downforce and Bilstein suspension, with 10 settings for rebound and compression. The Extreme Aero Package helped it to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in only 7 minutes/one second. Don’t count Dodge out. This special Challenger just might become a reality! Update: On July 10, 2020, Tim Kuniskis, the head of passenger cars, told Muscle Cars & Trucks, that FCA would not be building a Challenger ACR. He stated, "Our cars aren't going to be track cars, it's just physics." He acknowledged that the heavy Challenger could not beat the Ford Mustang GT500, adding "I'd have to have a wing the side of a house, I'd have to have no seats." I don't think having a successor to the Viper and Neon, for road course racing, is any big deal, since most Dodge owners identify more with drag racing.
Since someone who moderates evidently had a hard-on for censoring me, and my post was blocked from being posted in the Article thread, with the following lying message in red letters: "This message is awaiting moderator approval, and is invisible to normal visitors." Well, I put up this thread and I approve this message. My original post re-posted below, unaltered. If one likes the concept well enough, the parts are available to make a better road racer. The main lack I see in the Challenger world is tires that have the overall size to maximize the traction. They need more sidewall and more height in addition to more width to really grip for a car of this mass. 120 ton mining truck don't use 20-series tires. Racing cars do not use ultra-low-profile tires, either. Both NASCAR and F1 balked at larger rim sizes for the purposes of eshetics and "relevance" because of the reduced traction. I wonder what a strippo home-brewed car with the magnetic/electric shocks, lowered to the max, and really big tires would be able to do. A raised differential center section would be desirable for a less-than-excessive CV angle of the half-shafts. A dry sump could slam the engine as low as possible. Small-diameter clutch could raise the ground clearance in the bellhousing area. The car has great potential, for those who like the car and want to road race it. Moparisto, Jun 19, 2022Edit
So, as I was saying before some Twitter moderator blocked only me from responding, I will continue. The ACR would have been a guaranteed money-maker, but the market for creating specialty Challengers will NOT die. The effeminate attack on Dodge is the real problem with there not being one produced. There is no sane reason, no financial reason, no business reason and no "I don't hate American men" reason. Even back when whoever was in charge of Dodge was there, this was a pernicious and irrational attack on Dodge. Many would have gladly bought an ACR. They could have formed their own racing series. There were so many options. An almost-stripped-bare lightweight version with Mopar lowering springs, thin but easily removable rugs, aluminum deck lid, aluminum front fenders would have become an instant cult classic. Elon Musk should have bought Dodge, too, not just the Child Porn Hosting Site known as Twitter.
