5 Special Edition Mopar Muscle Cars That Will Always Turn Heads
If you ask an automobile lover what Mopar is, they will tell you it is a much-loved car brand. This is technically not true because Mopar is not its own unique brand, but a name used to refer to a type of car built by one of the legacy brands of the Chrysler Corporation. This list of brands only includes Chrysler, Dodge, RAM, and Jeep now — but it used to include Plymouth, DeSoto, and Imperial before their production was discontinued.
The name Mopar (a combination of the terms "motor" and "parts") actually originated from a line of antifreeze developed by Chrysler in 1937. The term slowly transitioned from being simply a brand of radiator fluid additives to one of the most recognized car "brands" in history.
When it comes to the phrase "Mopar muscle car," that generally means a car belonging to the brands Chrysler, Dodge, or RAM manufactured in the 1964-1972 muscle car era. However, there is also a prestigious group of special edition Mopar muscle cars that were manufactured more recently. All these unique cars were produced in extremely small amounts, making them a collector's dream — especially since Dodge is discontinuing the Charger and Challenger.
The Mopar '17 Dodge Challenger
In the winter of 2017, in honor of its 80th anniversary, Mopar introduced a brand new line of special edition Dodge Challengers. Only 160 of these cars were built, with precisely 80 cars in Pitch Black/Contusion Blue, and the remaining 80 in Pitch Black/Billet Silver.
Inspired by a 2017 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 392 Shaker, the muscle car came well-endowed with a HEMI engine that boasts a horsepower of 485 and 475 pound-feet of torque. The best performing Mopar special edition car at the time, the Mopar '17 was also fitted with the Tremec six-speed manual transmission.
The Mopar '17's interior certainly impresses as well, featuring performance seats embroidered with customized Tungsten Mopar logos. The Tungsten stitching is a constant theme, appearing on the seat borders, door panels, and center console.
The car's exterior was buffed up with a two-tone custom paint job: The lower section of the car came in either Contusion Blue or Billet Silver, while the upper exterior came in Pitch Black. The design also includes a hand-painted Mopar 392 logo and a Mopar Design badge on the rear deck spoiler. Backed up by four-piston Brembo brakes, the Mopar '17 Dodge Challenger's 20-inch x 9-inch aluminum wheels feature semi-gloss accents and center caps featuring the Dodge logo, only adding to the already impressive design.
After its introduction in 2017, the 160 Mopar '17 Dodge Challengers were sold for $55,790 each.
Mopar '14 Dodge Challenger
This car created quite the buzz after its announcement in 2014 as Mopar's latest special edition muscle car. The eventual much-anticipated release in the second quarter of 2014 saw the entire line of limited edition Challengers sell out in the blink of an eye. The Mopar '14 also became the rarest Challenger in the market at the time, with only 100 of them being made.
Powered by a 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine, the car has 400 horsepower which can even be increased with the Scat package options. The car came with a couple of color options, with buyers able to choose either Pitch Black or Bright White. The chosen exterior color was to be combined with one of three Mopar Blue stripe options. Customers also had the option to go for more Mopar Blue stripes across the doors and over the decklid. The Mopar '14 sports a dark theme on its grille surround, fuel-filler door, rear spoiler, and 20-by-8-inch aluminum wheels with Mopar center caps.
The performance seats of the Mopar '14 Dodge Challenger are Dark Slate Premium Black Nappa Leather, with the Mopar logo embroidered on it in blue. These limited-edition muscle cars set back enthusiastic buyers $36,995 each.
Mopar '11 Dodge Charger
Mopar opened its order books for this mean machine in the spring of 2011. With only 1000 of them in existence, the Mopar '11 Charger became only the second special edition muscle car Mopar had produced.
All 1000 of these cars come with a Pitch Black paint job and a matching set of 20-by-8-inch five-spoke wheels in Gloss Black. They were accessorized with a couple of classic Mopar Blue stripes, Mopar badges (on the front grille and rear deck), and a rear spoiler. The blue-on-black theme continues inside as well, with the black Katzkin leather seats decorated with the Blue Mopar logo and stripes.
The Mopar '11 initially went for $39,750 and came with the 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine, offering horsepower and torque of 370 and 395 pound-feet, respectively. The Charger has the 5-speed, Mercedes-sourced W5A580 automatic transmission and provides a solid braking system. This limited-edition muscle car can go from 0-60 mph in 5 seconds.
[Featured image by John Feinberg via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.0]
Mopar '10 Challenger R/T
The Mopar '10 Dodge Challenger R/T was the first-ever special edition muscle car to be built by Mopar, and it has become an instant collector since its release in 2010. Only 500 models of this iconic vehicle were produced and were priced starting from $38,000 ($39,000 for manual transmission).
The car only came with a metallic black exterior, but buyers could customize the car's stripes in either Mopar Blue, Red, or Silver. The car's exterior is also buffed up with a grille surround in black, a set of 20-inch wheels in gloss black, and Mopar logos. The interior is also quite admirable, with Katzkin leather seats designed with the iconic Mopar logo.
The Mopar '10 came equipped with either a manual or automatic transmission. The models with manual transmission got the classic pistol-grip shift handle made with carbon fiber, while the models with automatic transmission used a Hurst T-handle shifter. This car was also given a 5.7-liter HEMI, but its horsepower varies according to the transmission (Automatic: 387 horsepower, Manual: 391 horsepower).
[Featured image by Greg Gjerdingen via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.0]
Mopar '19 Dodge Challenger
A continuation of Mopar's tradition of releasing limited edition muscle cars each year, since 2010, the Mopar '19 started accepting orders in late 2019. Customers got to choose between either Pitch Black or White Knuckle for the exterior color. The classic Mopar Blue stripes run on the top of the car, from the front to the rear deck spoiler.
A black "Mopar Design" badge is affixed to the rear spoiler, accompanied by matching retro Mopar hood pins on the front. The black color scheme shows up on the car's 20-by-9-inch aluminum wheels with Mopar center caps. The car's interior is not too shabby either, with cloth performance seats embroidered with the Mopar M. A standard Mopar '19 also comes with "Challenger" door-sill guards from Mopar and custom Berber floor mats.
Under the hood, the Mopar '19's engine is a 6.4-liter 392 cubic-inch HEMI V8, coolly offering 485 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque. This model also comes with either the standard manual (6-speed) or automatic transmission (TorqueFlite 8-speed).
Only 100 of these Mopar muscle cars are in existence, with 90 cars made for the U.S. and 10 for Canada, making them extremely rare to spot. After its initial announcement in 2019, the pricing for this muscle car started at $45,835.