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SEMA 2016 is revving up with muscle cars so powerful they make sportscars squeak worldwide. This year’s show highlights 1000hp vintage Mustangs and artificially aged Dodge Challengers, merging old-school looks with cutting-edge performance. It’s a muscle car lover’s paradise, where America’s favorite marques steal the spotlight. Whether it’s the classic Pontiac GTO, the track-ready Camaro 1LE, or the display of classic muscle in South Otago, these beasts are a nostalgic nod to power and style.
A tip from a friend met years earlier on the Hot Rod Power Tour led Auto Archaeology to a yard on the Gulf of Mexico, one that turned out to hold not one forgotten Dodge Challenger, but several, buried deep in the woods. The timing lined up with a stop at the Wellborn Muscle Car Museum and the start of the 2016 Power Tour. What’s left of these cars after years of Gulf Coast humidity might surprise you. Watch to see what the crew found.
Seven 1970 Dodge Challengers were built for one Quentin Tarantino stunt sequence in Death Proof, most of which didn’t survive filming intact. This surviving example, dents and all, was imported from the U.S. and is now legally registered on the road in Finland. Its onscreen rival wasn’t a Challenger at all, but a matte black 1969 Dodge Charger R/T driven by Kurt Russell’s villain.
Dodge built the 2018 Challenger SRT Demon so extreme that NHRA banned it from record-legal drag competition before it ever lined up at a track. With 840 horsepower, a 9.65-second quarter mile, and the ability to pop a wheelie off the line, it set records no production car has matched since. Dodge built only 3,000 for the US market, and even the passenger seat was a one-dollar option rather than standard equipment.
A software bug buried in the transmission control module of some 2017 Dodge Challengers could let the dash show PARK even when the car isn’t actually parked, creating a real rollaway risk for anyone who steps out without the parking brake set. Dodge recalled 7,802 examples equipped with the 5.7-liter V8 and 8-speed automatic to fix it with a free software update. Here’s what triggered the recall and what affected owners need to do.