Mopar strikes back: 392 Ram for Sema

This 347kW Dodge Ram bakkie was created by Chrysler in-house aftermarket division Mopar, using only off-the-shelf parts available to you and me at the flash of a credit card.

This 347kW Dodge Ram bakkie was created by Chrysler in-house aftermarket division Mopar, using only off-the-shelf parts available to you and me at the flash of a credit card.

Published Oct 28, 2011

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The annual Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas is, of course, all about aftermarket components, go-fast goodies and automotive bling.

Custom car builders all over the US vie with each other to create the most outrageous one-off vehicles, the most intense paint jobs and the shiniest chrome, to show the punters just what is possible given a standard car and a sufficiency of cash and imagination.

So why are we featuring this relatively understated Dodge Ram - other than that we at IOL Motoring have always had a soft spot for Chrysler's unashamedly non-PC, super-macho bakkie? What's so special about metallic silver paint with a gloss-black roof?

What's special is that this SEMA exhibit was built, not by a custom specialist, but by Mopar, Chrysler's in-house aftermarket division, using only off-the-shelf parts available to you and me at the flash of a credit card.

No prices are quoted (admittedly, engineering at this level is never cheap) but here's how the Mopar motorheads built the Ram 392 Quick Silver concept.

First, a muscle transplant: the standard 287kW, 5.7 litre V8 was ditched in favour of an SRT 6.4-litre 392 Hemi with 347kW on tap. Torque and mid-range were boosted by a cold-air intake kit and 'branch' headers with an electronic exhaust cutout on each bank.

A Mopar suspension kit dropped the Ram 50mm closer to the street and braking chores were entrusted to a Brembo big-brake kit with 380mm ventilated discs and bright silver six-piston callipers all round.

The body was dressed in an off-the-shelf aero kit, complete with front and rear spoilers, and the bonnet was replaced with a Mopar reverse deep-cowl aluminium component which has working hot-air extraction vents.

Twenty-two-inch, red-anodised alloy rims shod with 275/45 front and 305/40 rear rubber completed the running gear, while the metallic silver finish, with the grille inserts, mirrors and some of the interior trim elements sprayed to match the wheels, pulled the whole don't-mess-with-me look together.

The cab was tricked out with SRT sports seats covered in super-soft leather with red stitching and trim panels, aluminium door sills and pedals, and of course, a high-end (read loud!) sound system (this is after all, Las Vegas).

And there you have it: parts-bin engineering at its very best, as Mopar strikes back.

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