Make No Mistake, This is One Rare Hurst Dodge Challenger

BOLD RIDE

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Posted by Zach Doell

 

 

There are quite a few big names in the muscle car history books. ‘Hurst’ is certainly one of them. The brand’s slick shifters were industry royalty in the ‘60s muscle car era, and though the brand endured a period of dormancy, a new subsidiary – Hurst Performance Vehicles – made a dramatic return in the late 2000s with a new series of mods. The favorite canvas with which to show them off? The Dodge Challenger.

 

Performance tuned and attired variants of the Hurst Dodge Challenger were produced from 2008 until 2011, and this rare bird – currently listed on eBay – is one of that group. But what makes it even more special is what lies under the hood – an SRT8 6.1-liter Hemi engine and a Hurst-Vortech supercharger. Add it all up and it’s a car that can really go.

But surprisingly you didn’t have to dish out big bucks for Hurst performance bits, though you certainly could. Hurst supplied five stages of upgrade kits for the Dodge Challenger offering custom wheels, Eibach suspension, paint, exhaust and engine tunes at the base level and culminating with the Vortech centrifugal supercharger at the top end. This 2010 Challenger sports the later Competition/Plus package, which streamlined the naming system a bit, and came sporting the popular essentials.

As such, you’ll find the Eibach adjustable suspension, Magnaflow exhaust, 20-inch Hurst wheels, matte black stripes. custom seats, and shifter top. For extra punch, this Dodge Challenger – car #28 from 2010 – totes the sought after supercharger, which brought power up to a heady 572 horsepower and 528 lb-ft of torque. Lots of speed is a side effect.

Sadly, Hurst Performance Vehicles hit a dead end in 2011 after factory programming restrictions stymied Hurst’s engine tuning and supercharging capabilities for the Challenger. That summer, Hurst closed its California workshop.

Though this supercharged #28 car from 2010 is certainly not the last of the breed, it is a remarkable footnote in Hurst brand history. Interestingly, this Hurst Dodge Challenger SRT8 complements its low 4,458 miles with the signed names of the Hurst chairman, CEO, designer and sales manager underneath the trunk lid. Not something you see every day.