Hemmings Muscle Machines June 2023

"… the modern muscle car lives and it’s wilder than ever!" You’ll read elsewhere in this issue about the unveiling of Dodge’s final “Last Call” Challenger, the Demon 170, and by the time you read this, the car’s details will be well known. It goes without saying that it’s amazing a major automaker could produce a road-legal vehicle to satisfy emissions regulations while also having 1,025 horsepower and the ability to turn the quarter mile in less than 9 seconds. It should be cause for celebration — the modern muscle car lives and it’s wilder than ever! But, as you probably also know, the Demon 170 is something of a bittersweet accomplishment. That’s because the whole Last Call program marks the end of the line for the Dodge Challenger and…

PRODUCTION LINE The rumors had been swirling for months. Something was to be announced at SEMA, but they couldn’t pull the trigger until they stopped blowing up test engines. But on Monday, March 20, 2023, Dodge unleashed the last of its seven Final Call editions, and it’s a doozy. The 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 (its full name) is the celebratory firework to end the rear-drive, internal-combustion muscle car party at Dodge/Chrysler/Stellantis. One thousand and twenty-five horsepower on E85 fuel, with more than 900 lb-ft of torque on hand. (If you have to make do with mere gasoline, the computers will limit power to around 900 hp and 810 lb-ft Boo-hoo.) The 170-proof ethanol-mix fuel both inspired its name and its frankly unbelievable performance numbers: at full-strength, and on…

Letter of the Month: Chi-Town Biscayne I read with great interest about the Biscayne in the February 2023 issue of HMM (“A Deeper Dive,” #234)— I have one of my own. In 1987, I was living in Chicago and saw a two-line ad in the Chicago Tribune’s classic car section for a 1968 Biscayne with a 427, four-speed, and just 5,500 miles. I bought the car after checking the firewall numbers and the VIN — the numbers on the block matched. In 1988, I showed the car at the Chevy Vettefest at McCormick Place — the first car show I took it to — and won a Gold Spinner Award. I did a title search and had copies of the previous owners’ information with me. A guy started telling me…

MODIFIEDSPOTLIGHT: Restomods AS HE CAME OF AGE in the nation of Lebanon in the 1970s, Habib Chababi knew about American muscle cars — the sight, the sound, the smell, the feel. “In my last years there, there were older boys in my neighborhood who had American muscle cars. One had a black Charger — I didn’t know enough then to know whether it was a ’68, ’69, or ’70. Others had GTOs and Chevelles. One guy who had a Buick Skylark would do donuts in the church yard.” Such hoonery made a lasting impression. First thing first, however. “My mother, five siblings, and I arrived in the States in 1981 as war refugees. My aunt sponsored us, and we came to the States for a better life. At first, we…

STOCK THERE WAS A SEISMIC SHIFT IN THE WORLD of racing at the start of 1969. Richard Petty, eventual seven-time series champion and 200-race winner, raced for Plymouth through 1968 and wanted to switch to Dodge to pilot the new aero-slick ’69 Daytona; Plymouth didn’t have a similar machine planned then. But one does not deny The King. Once he was turned down by management, Petty ditched Chrysler altogether in favor of cross-town rival Ford. It had been a decade since he raced for anyone other than Plymouth, so this came as a big surprise to plenty of fans and fellow racers alike. On Saturday, February 1, 1969, Petty attended the season-opening Motor Trend 500 race at the Riverside, California, road course behind the wheel of a Ford Torino Sportsroof.…

MODIFIEDSPOTLIGHT: Restomods WHEN TODD STONG RETURNED HOME FROM Vietnam in December 1968, he found himself ready, willing, and financially able to snatch up a new, hot ride to call his own. “I had saved my money in the military and decided to jump back in the car market. I quickly bought myself a ’68 Mustang GTA from a friend whose wife unexpectedly got pregnant, ”Todd says. However, that pony car didn’t last long in the new owner’s stable, as he soon found out the Mustang didn’t work very well in the snowy winter weather that was typical at his home in Trooper, Pennsylvania. Six months later, Todd was back in the hunt for a keeper ride. By now, the young car aficionado had plenty of time to research the cars…