This 1968 Dodge Charger Is Lighter Than a BMW M4 With Nearly Twice The Power

What would you give for a 1969 Dodge Charger that weighed less than a 2022 BMW M4, made nearly twice the power, and still came with a great sound system and air conditioning? Well, luckily it does exist, as an exciting one-off built by SpeedKore and called the “Hellucination.” But what all did it take to get it to this impressive weight and power figure in such a classic body?

The weight loss is very obvious from the start. The body is entirely made from carbon fiber by SpeedKore and was shot in BASF Glasurit clear coat. This leaves the carbon weave intact and for all the world to see. However, the carbon fiber doesn’t stop there, as the entire floor pan and wheel tubs are also made from the exotic material. The lighting are all LED recreations of the original Charger’s setup, and, yes, the headlights still feature retractable covers. It just wouldn’t be a Charger without them. This Charger’s hood is also hinged from the front, giving us a glorious view of the engine.

To keep a strong and stable chassis, SpeedKore utilized a custom frame with perimeter reinforcements, with an integrated roll cage, and they also widened the track width which helps give the Charger its mean stance without ruining its handling. The suspension is made from a Detroit Speed double A-arm setup in the front with a four-link suspension with a track bar in the rear, made by SpeedKore. Detroit Speed also set a set of front and rear sway bars to keep body roll in control, but overall, the all-carbon Charger relies on Penske double adjustable coilovers.

It also sits on a set of custom made HRE wheels that are 19×9.0 front and 20×12.0 rear, all of them wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires in 265/35ZR19 front and 345/30R20 rear. While it won’t take as much “woah” as the original all steel Charger to get stopped, the Hellucination relies on a Brembo brake system with six-piston calipers front and four pistons in the rear. The steering also needed to be upgraded for the modern handling, so a Woodward steering rack was installed with an Ididit steering column and a custom triple split-spoke steering wheel wrapped in leather and held to the wheel rim with orange stitching.

Of course, a car with such extensive work to the body and chassis couldn’t just have any old engine. It couldn’t even have any old Hemi V-8. No, this super lightweight muscle car features the most powerful V-8 offered by Dodge, the Hellephant. This 7.0 liter (426 cu in, for you Americanized displacement readers) V-8 features a supercharger and pumps out 1,000 true American horsepower, but this one also features a dry-sump oiling system, custom SpeedKore 4-into-1 headers, and custom SpeedKore exhaust system with MagnaFlow mufflers.

It’s fed 91 octane fuel from the SpeedKore custom-made fuel tank by a Mopar fuel system. Keeping this 1,000 hp beast cool is a Saldana radiator with a Spal fan pulling in cool air when the Hellucination isn’t moving fast enough. While the driver won’t be shifting this Charger with a manual, it is equipped with a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission that can take the four-digit power of the Hellephant Hemi. All of the lubricating fluid in the engine and transmission are taken care of by Motul, and all of the oil and fuel lines are run within the SpeedKore custom frame.

That’s how you get a classic 1968 Dodge Charger to weigh less than a BMW M4 with nearly twice the power while being equal in comfort. With everything equipped in the Hellucination, it only tips the scales at 3,600 lbs, making it nearly 300 lbs less than that aforementioned Bimmer and nearly 380 lbs lighter than a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T Hemi. With 1,000 hp on tap, the Hellucination is nearly twice the power of the M4 and over twice that of the 426 Hemi in the Charger R/T. It took a lot of custom work, but it all pays off with a higher performance Charger than Dodge ever dreamed of in 1968, without sacrificing the look of the original and still adding in the modern comforts of the current Charger. That’s one helluva success in our book.

Images by Nate Rose provided by SpeedKore