This 1969 Dodge Charger at Mecum Is Really a 2016 Challenger SRT Hellcat Underneath
And it’s headed to the Kissimmee auction along with other American heavyweights.
Known as the "Reverence" and built for SEMA a couple of years ago, Cleveland Power and Performance's 1969 Dodge Charger lookalike is actually based on a 2016 Challenger SRT Hellcat. However, it has a couple of performance-enhancing tweaks: a Hemi engine upgraded to 890 horsepower and a fully independent rear suspension. Even better, it will go under the hammer as part of Mecum's Kissimmee 2021 auction starting this week in Florida, along with literally thousands of other exciting collector cars and classics.
Estimated by Mecum to fetch around $500,000, the Dodge restomod has the standard ZF 8HP90 eight-speed automatic transmission with a 3.09 ratio differential, KW Variant coilovers, CW SP551 wheels, Kooks long tube headers with three-inch exhaust pipes, a fully custom body finished off with "Strangler Green" PPG paint, and a roll cage to keep you in should those nearly 900 supercharged horses get out of hand.
If you're more about the original muscle, Kissimmee 2021 won't disappoint. The catalog includes collector favorites such as Ford GTs from both generations, a 2006 Saleen S7 Twin Turbo, Carroll Shelby's personal 1965 427 Cobra, a mint 1970 Plymouth Hemi Superbird with the four-speed stick, one of the 34 1965 Shelby GT350R fastback race cars made, and oddities such as the equally rare 1958 Dual-Ghia Convertible packing a D500 Hemi V8.
Also, Michael Fux, the Instagram daddy and individual with a 24/7 hotline to the Rolls-Royce factory is selling three of his cars that aren't purple. Perhaps more excitingly, long-time Ford, Shelby and Mercury collector Larry Carrell is also letting go of his ultra-low mileage muscle car icons and special editions at no reserve, including a trio of Mustang Twister Specials (a 1970 Mach 1 and two EF-5s from 2008, the latter pair being the only two of their kind), a Torino Twister Special and a Mustang GT Twister II, a pair of 2010 Mustang Dominator prototypes, a Boss 302, pairs of Boss 351s and Boss 429s, rare Shelby fastbacks, Mercury Cougars, and a whole lot more. If you're after a rare piece of 1960s and 1970s Ford Performance history, this might be your ticket.
Finally, stepping back into the late 1950s, please direct your attention to the Marv Siesel El Marocco collection, consisting of three cars from the 1956 and '57 model years.
Based on Chevy Bel Airs, the El Marocco models were a creation of entrepreneur Reuben Allender, who figured that '56 and '57 Chevys could be turned into convincing Cadillac Eldorado copycats at prices that could satisfy both customers with the ambition of owning a Cadillac convertible, and his accountant looking at their balance sheet. Unfortunately for the El Marocco business, 1958 Chevrolets turned out to be rather impossible to modify into convincing Cadillacs, and with that, Allender's dream project was finished off by the works of GM's design department.
Mecum Auction's Kissimmee 2021 sale starts this Thursday both online and in person under strict safety regulations, with 3,500 items on the lot list. Quite a few of those classics and customs can turn into a bargain, so we wish you good luck out there.
Got a tip on what to buy, or where to find a rare Shelby? Send us a note: tips@thedrive.com
