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Ultimate Challenger Road Trip: Day 10
Portsmouth loop
We're in England again, back on the wrong side of the road, in a country that still worships a queen and measures money by the pound, and beer by the pint.
The Marines have a saying: The only easy day was yesterday. Well, not for us. In terms of mileage, today has been nothing compared with a couple of the 300-400 milers we've logged on this trip.
In fact, we've traveled a whopping eight miles since yesterday, from just adjacent to the ferry terminal in Portsmouth to a hotel just down the road in Fareham. Why? You'll find out tomorrow.
Today, however, is about the Challenger and Mopar. We're meeting up with a few members of MMA -- the Mopar Muscle Association -- Europe's largest Dodge/Mopar enthusiast club.
First to arrive is Richard Lee, owner of a rough-looking Challenger drag car. Lee, 50, is an IT services manager and the proud owner of three Mopar products. His street car is a 1970 Barracuda, but his daily driver is an LPG (liquid propane gas) -powered '99 Dakota R/T truck he's using to tow the Challenger.
He purchased the drag car in Texas six years ago and had it shipped over specifically so his daughter Jenny could race it. It has a race-prepped, balanced, and blueprinted HEMI that makes about 450 hp. Compared with the other Mopars that show up, she's nothing much to look at -- but a purpose-built race machine.
"Jenny is 24 now, but has been racing it since she was 17 years old," he tells me. "We race the 'run-what-you-brungs' at Santa Pod raceway in Northhamptonshire. Our best time is 11.02 at 124.5 mph."
"I used to do the run-what-you-brungs, but when Jenny turned 17 and was able to do it, she was better than I," he says proudly. "She has a reaction time of 0.4 second on a pro tree."
Lee tells me they picked up the Challenger because it was safer than racing his 'Cuda: "It was already half done as a race car -- we just put a proper cage in it," he says.
When I ask him whether he's ever run the 'Cuda against the Challenger head to head, he smiles and says diplomatically, "Once -- me in the Challenger. We won and that's all I'm going to say."
When I press him for details, he breaks down, "She was three-tenths of a second gone before I'd even moved," he admits with a smile.
Next to arrive is a trailer queen -- and the connection that set this all up.
Gareth Williams pulls in with a Dodge Sprinter (okay, it was the Mercedes version) towing an immaculate '67 Barracuda rally car, lightly dusted with racing stickers, including badges for the 2005 Rallye Monte Carlo Historique.
Williams, of SWEEP Motorsports, takes care of the 'Cuda for Ralph Beckman -- a U.S. rally racer best known for winning the 1968 Shell 4000 with Scott Harvey.
Though Beckman lives in the U.S., he entrusts the 'Cuda to Williams because there is no real Time Speed Distance (TSD) rallying in the U.S. In the United Kingdom and much of Europe, TSD rallies are regular affairs. In fact, when Beckman and driver John Buffum last raced the starfish blue 'Cuda, they finished second overall in the 2005 Rallye Monte Carlo Historique -- just behind a Lancia Fulvia.
"Which is fairly easy to drive compared with that in the snow," Williams informs me, nodding at the 'Cuda.
As the owner of a race prep shop that services many other types of rally cars - foreign and domestic, modern and historic -- Williams sees a lot of cars. "We basically do anything we think we can do, which is a lot, because we have huge egos," he jokes.
So I ask him what he thinks of Mopar, after having taken care of one.
"I reckon it's a different mindset. How American musclecars are conceived, designed, and built - it's a very different mindset from the lightweight, British sports car," he philosophizes. "But I like them -- so I've become a Mopar nut. So much so that, one day, I am going to find myself a Barracuda, just as a road car."
Mark Smith of Dunstable, pulls up next. He's a 42-year-old owner of a mail-order engineering tools supply company and a R4 Rallye Red 1970 Challenger R/T. "Only had it three months. Prior to that I had a '73 'Cuda, but sold it to some guy in Germany," he explains. "Had it three of four years, but wanted a big block -- the 'Cuda was only a 340."
Smith is quite the American-iron lover. In addition to the Challenger, he owns an old El Camino and has his wife driving a Navigator. He's been a member of MMA for four years, but a Mopar lover for much longer. "I've been a Mopar fan for 20-plus years, since I was driving, really," he says. "I like the lines, I suppose, you know, the cool '60s-'70s stuff. I had a few Mustangs when I was younger -- sort of graduated to the Mopars. It's the styling I think."
Like the other members, Smith runs his Challenger regularly -- taking it out to the dragstrip for car shows or simply cruising. He does 10-12 events a year, provided the fickle British weather cooperates.
To get his Challenger, he traveled far and wide, but found it, literally, in his backyard. "I went all the way to Las Vegas to look for one at Mopars at the Strip in March," he recalls, "then found this one 30 miles away on UK eBay."
He picked it up from a guy who was just another fan of American iron. "Not an MMA member, just a bloke who had it in his garage. It's an original R/T that had been restored, but it's not a numbers-matching engine. Other than that, it's all stock. Got a four-speed, which is a bit rarer on those..." he notes proudly.
Jim Wilson, of nearby Hayling Island, pulls in last in a bright and shiny sublime green '70 'Cuda convertible with a HEMI 340 four-barrel. Like Smith's, Wilson's car is immaculate. "It's been rotisserie restored," he tells me, "almost numbers matching. The engine is only a few numbers out -- which is odd -- but it's been restored to as new as possible. The only thing not right is the tires."
Of the four guys who have shown up, Wilson might be the biggest Mopar freak. Not only is he one of the organizers of the British Mopar Nationals (which takes place in a couple weeks at the local Santopod Raceway), he also owns the custom UK license plate "MOPAR" as well as the Web site www.mopar.co.uk.
And then there are his cars -- past and present. "I've always been a Chrysler fan. I've owned 35 Mopar musclecars," says the 58-year old proudly, "I've owned a lot more Mopar than many Americans. I bought my first Mopar in 1976, a 1971 440 six-pack Cuda -- had several six-pack cars -- Challengers, Chargers. I've had five Roadrunners...3 GTXs...," he trails off, lost in thought.
I bring him back to reality by asking him how he got the Mopar bug. "I guess it's just what I got into in my teens in the late '60s," he begins. "I used to see the Roadrunners and Chargers racing at Santopod, probably American servicemen racing them back then. Bought my first six-pack 'Cuda back in 1976 and have owned Mopar cars of one sort or another ever since."
After our meet and greet, we position the historic cars alongside the new Challenger SRT8 for a little photo and video shoot. It's quite an impressive display of Mopar muscle, especially with the colors we have assembled. Afterward, each of the guys takes the new Challenger for a short spin around the block and out on the freeway. Then I ask them what they think.
"I like the new one," says Richard Lee, the first to go. "It doesn't have the live axle or coil springs bouncing around in the back. The old ones are harsh compared with this thing."
"In this one, the C-pillar is much bigger, much harder to see out of," he continues, "But maybe it's because I'm used to the old wrecks. No wonder you guys aren't tired having driven all over Europe. It's effortless, really. Comfortable, quiet, and smooth."
When I ask if he'd buy one, he looks at me like I'm crazy. "Yeah, but I ain't got the money," he smiles, "That's a different kettle of fish."
"Quite stable isn't it? Not a lot of body roll," says Gareth Williams, after zipping around a traffic circle and pedaling it hard down the motorway.
He also notes some big differences from the rally car. "This is obviously designed for creature comforts -- the rally car is for taking two people from point A to B as fast as possible. This one is a bit more insulated form the real world."
"This doesn't feel quite as large a car as it is," he says, "I'm already in tune with it. And that usually takes four to five miles."
"The whole car is very tactile -- just like my Volkwagen Passat -- my daily driver. It gives me the same sensations as that. The only thing that bothers me is that gas is at $11 a gallon," he laughs.
"She just stops beautifully, really nice. My wife would kill for one of these. She's a petrol head. We were on the east coast last summer and had a Mustang. She absolutely adored it and this is twenty times better than that," he says as we cruise back toward the hotel.
After matting it one last time, Williams concludes, "It just goes, doesn't it? It's absolutely superb. For such a big car, it's absolutely brilliant -- like putting on a good suit."
Rallye Red Challenger owner Mark Smith's first impressions are positive as well. "Yeah, I like it," he says a bit reservedly. "It's different to what I thought. A lot taller, but a damn good-looking car. Shame they aren't going to sell it in England."
After a few miles, he warms up some more. "It takes some getting used to because mine's so agricultural. Such a difference driving it after getting out of my old thing. A world of difference. Really smooth ride, isn't it? Mine's not comfortable at all, it's a full hands-on job to drive it, especially with a manual," he says.
After hearing the 0-to-60 and quarter-mile times, Mark remarks, "Pretty good out of the show room floor, isn't it? Better than I would have imagined it from such a big car -- and it is a lot bigger than I imagine it would have been. It's very impressive."
"I love it. Wanna swap? It drives great -- a real pleasure," he concludes after we pull in.
Mopar maniac Wilson is not quite so easily impressed. "I got a 'Cuda with a HEMI in it, so I'm used to a bit of horsepower," he says as he throttles it hard for the first time.
Then he lays into Dodge for a bit. "I always thought the current Charger was a butt ugly car -- a missed opportunity. This car, I could see me buying. The Charger -- definitely not. I guess I just don't like the styling of it," he says out of nowhere.
"My heart sank when I read that the Challenger is not going to come to Europe. I thought, there we go, we're getting left out again. At least, give us a European version with a European radio and the right lights," he continues.
"A lot of people will bring it in anyway, but it just makes life so much easier if there were a European version."
A couple miles later, and his mind is made up. "I could live with this car, though I'd like it with a six-speed. I think it's fantastic. I can see me buying one. They should bring it to Europe."
So there you have it -- the United Kingdom loves American musclecars, both old and new. Memo to Nardelli and Co.: If you want to make a bunch of Mopar fans happy and a few pounds sterling to boot -- send over a couple of Euro spec'd Challengers. More on the British response to the Challenger tomorrow as our Ultimate Challenger Road Trip concludes at an extra special event. Any guesses? |
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