A pair of Dirt Logic 2.25 smoothbody shocks bolted to the stock mounts smooths out things
As cool as snappy acceleration is, it's only so much fun if the rest of the vehicle can't handle the high velocity. The phrase "scary fast" was coined for a reason, after all. To us, a vehicle is more fun if it's stable at both high and low speeds. Stability encourages exploring the limits of personal driving skill and vehicular performance. This Grand gets its stability from Fabtech Dirt Logic dampers at each corner and a chrome-moly rollcage built by Brandon Briscoe of Twisted Tin. Traffic signals and wandering bovines present the only reasons to let off of the gas pedal in Baja.
Another big reason the Hemi Challenger feels so stable is its all-wheel-drive system. The phrase "all-wheel drive" seems synonymous with "four-wheel drive," but the distinction is that an all-wheel-drive vehicle has a center differential that enables full-time four-wheel drive without drivetrain damage on pavement. When it's time to really slow things down, the Challenger has a fully functional Low range in the Quadra-Trac II transfer case and has the ability to lock the center differential. In the deep sand of Old Puertocitos Road, we found that the Grand lets its pilot pick his or her preferred line through the dirt. Thanks to the all-wheel drive, the Hemi, and the Fabtech suspension, Skilton's Hemi Challenger responds to its pilot's every whim, delivering without protest or drama.
The rollcage tucks up high against the roof to maximize interior space and was painted Chr
As the sun inched lower toward the Baja horizon, we headed back into town to prepare for the race the next day. We hadn't conquered the San Felipe whoops at 60-plus, and we hadn't crawled up a vertical waterfall the length of a landing strip. As Clive notes, "When a truck is multipurpose, it can never be perfect in all categories."
Instead, we'd sampled a vehicle fully capable of taking us from the driveway to the Baja to the Rubicon and back again, with our right foot lashed to the Hemi the whole time.
"In all my years Jeeping, I wanted a Jeep that could do 0 to 60 in under 6 seconds, handle like a sports car, and traverse the Rubicon Trail," Clive exults. "This is it!"
It's a lot of fun - fun that's best measured in smiles per hour.