What do you guys think of the Exomod 68 conversion

[Wild one]

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/exomod-c68-carbon-dodge-challenger-srt-hellcat-redeye-1968-charger/?utm_campaign=true_anthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_type=organic

 

[Wild one]

Tested! The eXoMod C68 Carbon Has ’68 Charger Looks, Hellcat Performance​

A carbon-fiber body helps turn the 797-hp Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye into a modern Mopar classic.
Eric TingwallWriterJim FetsPhotographerAug 17, 2023


SEE ALL 43 PHOTOS

Pros​

• Classic 1968 style
• 21st century driving experience
• Can't go wrong with a Hellcat engine

Cons​

• Priced like a Lamborghini
• Dodge didn't build it with a six-figure interior

No amount of money or labor or modern parts can make an old car drive like a new one. Rick Katzeff learned this the long and hard way after sinking some 3,000 man-hours into a blank-check restomod of a 1969 Dodge Charger. Katzeff is no novice, either. He has earned accolades for his work restoring more than 25 Mopar classics by sweating details like the factory paint markings on the fasteners. Yet even with Katzeff's experience and the best parts money could buy, that '69 Charger turned into a $550,000 car that couldn't match the comfort and fun of his $75,000 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.



Katzeff came away from that job convinced he was approaching the new-old-car market from the wrong direction. Instead of restoring a classic with modern mechanical components, he reckoned he could build a better car by redesigning today's Dodge Challenger as a 55-year-old B-body. That vision drove him to frankenstein a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye into the carbon-bodied 1968 Dodge Charger you see here. Known as the eXoMod C68 Carbon, Katzeff's monster packs 797 horsepower, timeless style, and all the 21st century conveniences new-car owners take for granted, from stability control to heated seats. We'd already seen the car up close and walked away impressed. Now we've driven the eXoMod C68 Carbon on the street and at the test track to fully grasp what exactly Katzeff has created.

SEE ALL 43 PHOTOS

Back to the Future​

Before we get to the driving part, we have to talk about the C68 Carbon's design, because that's how every conversation about this car starts—and it starts a lot of conversations. It's easy to imagine someone attempting to turn a new Challenger into a classic Charger by bolting a few modifications—say, hide-away headlights, scalloped door skins, and round taillamps—onto Dodge's retro design theme. But Katzeff isn't the kind of person to take the quick and easy path. Starting with reproduction body panels, he modified the steel stampings to fit a Challenger beneath them and used those to create molds for a complete 1968 body made from carbon fiber.
To build a C68 Carbon, eXoMod removes the Challenger's steel panels, grinding the spot welds to pull the roof, and then bolts and bonds the carbon-fiber replacements on using 16 tubes of aerospace-grade adhesive. The modified body requires new glass in the rear window and rear quarter panels, and to mimic the '68 model, the fuel filler is relocated from the side to the top of the driver's rear fender.

An educated eye won't be tricked into thinking the C68 is the real thing. Katzeff can't hide the modern Challenger's thick A-pillars, reclined windshield, or the lack of front quarter glass, but his conversion is convincing enough to fool most gawkers. Crucially, the C68 Carbon gets the proportions right, helped by the fact that the 2022 Challenger's wheelbase is only an inch shorter than that of the '68 Charger. The carbon-fiber body extends the Challenger's nose by 6 inches and the tail by 4 inches to match the length of the original, while the deft design work masks the fact that the C68 is three inches taller and almost four inches wider. The quality of the build left us impressed, especially considering that carbon-fiber doesn't allow for fine-tuning each installation the way steel would. It's safe to say Chargers didn't leave the factory looking this good back in 1968.
Katzeff lets the style sell the car. The only other noteworthy modifications are a set of Forgeline wheels and Katzkin leather installed over the seats and on the door panels. The car is otherwise untouched from when it left the factory. That means it's loaded with modern conveniences and can be serviced at any Dodge dealership. It also means that this $349,000 example has the same dashboard as a $33,000 V-6 Challenger.

SEE ALL 43 PHOTOS

A Hellcat by Another Name​

Fire the 6.2-liter V-8 and lay into the throttle, and the C68 unleashes an unmistakable combination of shrieking supercharger and booming exhaust that carries across county lines. Driving this throwback is the usual Hellcat hootenanny, with your right foot alternately toe-tapping the throttle to harness as much of the 797 horsepower and 707 lb-ft of torque as the tires will allow.
Those Nitto NT555 G2 tires at the rear measure 315/35R20, 10 millimeters wider than the Redeye's stock 305s, but they're still not enough to rein in Dodge's unholy beast. As with stock Hellcats, you launch the C68 in second gear using about 30 percent throttle and the self-restraint of a nun. Anything more aggressive than that turns your launch into an awesome but slow-moving smoke show. Our best run in the eXoMod C68 Carbon yielded a 4.0-second sprint to 60 mph and a 11.9-second quarter mile. Those times land in line with a Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye we tested back in 2019, although we also saw a second example run to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds that year.
In a December 1967 cover-story comparison test headlined "Super Cars,"MotorTrend's test team pedaled a 440-cubic-inch, 375-hp 1968 Charger R/T to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds and through the quarter mile in 14.9 seconds at 94 mph. We never tested the 425-hp Hemi, but we can confidently say that no 1968 Charger could move like the C68. It's also hard to imagine a restomod improving on what Dodge's massive development budget afforded. The C68 isn't just a better car based on power alone, of course. The eight-speed automatic transmission and modern tires and all the engineering finesse that ties the car into a cohesive whole make the C68 Carbon both wilder and more civilized than its inspiration.


SEE ALL 43 PHOTOS

​

2022 ExoMod C68 Carbon Specifications
BASE PRICE	$329,000
PRICE AS TESTED	$349,000
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front-engine, RWD, 5-pass, 2-door coupe
ENGINE	6.2L supercharged port-injected OHV 16-valve 90-degree V-8
POWER (SAE NET)	797 hp @ 6,300 rpm
TORQUE (SAE NET)	707 lb-ft @ 4,500 rpm
TRANSMISSION	8-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	4,430 lb (57/43%)
WHEELBASE	116.0 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	208.0 x 80.5 x 56.0 in
0-60 MPH	4.0 sec
QUARTER MILE	11.9 sec @ 126.7 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	110 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.89 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	25.6 sec @ 0.78 g (avg)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON	N/A
EPA RANGE, COMB	N/A
ON SALE	Now

 

[Wild one]

Tested! The eXoMod C68 Carbon Has ’68 Charger Looks, Hellcat Performance​

A carbon-fiber body helps turn the 797-hp Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye into a modern Mopar classic.
Eric TingwallWriterJim FetsPhotographerAug 17, 2023


SEE ALL 43 PHOTOS

Pros​

• Classic 1968 style
• 21st century driving experience
• Can't go wrong with a Hellcat engine

Cons​

• Priced like a Lamborghini
• Dodge didn't build it with a six-figure interior

No amount of money or labor or modern parts can make an old car drive like a new one. Rick Katzeff learned this the long and hard way after sinking some 3,000 man-hours into a blank-check restomod of a 1969 Dodge Charger. Katzeff is no novice, either. He has earned accolades for his work restoring more than 25 Mopar classics by sweating details like the factory paint markings on the fasteners. Yet even with Katzeff's experience and the best parts money could buy, that '69 Charger turned into a $550,000 car that couldn't match the comfort and fun of his $75,000 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.



Katzeff came away from that job convinced he was approaching the new-old-car market from the wrong direction. Instead of restoring a classic with modern mechanical components, he reckoned he could build a better car by redesigning today's Dodge Challenger as a 55-year-old B-body. That vision drove him to frankenstein a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye into the carbon-bodied 1968 Dodge Charger you see here. Known as the eXoMod C68 Carbon, Katzeff's monster packs 797 horsepower, timeless style, and all the 21st century conveniences new-car owners take for granted, from stability control to heated seats. We'd already seen the car up close and walked away impressed. Now we've driven the eXoMod C68 Carbon on the street and at the test track to fully grasp what exactly Katzeff has created.

SEE ALL 43 PHOTOS

Back to the Future​

Before we get to the driving part, we have to talk about the C68 Carbon's design, because that's how every conversation about this car starts—and it starts a lot of conversations. It's easy to imagine someone attempting to turn a new Challenger into a classic Charger by bolting a few modifications—say, hide-away headlights, scalloped door skins, and round taillamps—onto Dodge's retro design theme. But Katzeff isn't the kind of person to take the quick and easy path. Starting with reproduction body panels, he modified the steel stampings to fit a Challenger beneath them and used those to create molds for a complete 1968 body made from carbon fiber.
To build a C68 Carbon, eXoMod removes the Challenger's steel panels, grinding the spot welds to pull the roof, and then bolts and bonds the carbon-fiber replacements on using 16 tubes of aerospace-grade adhesive. The modified body requires new glass in the rear window and rear quarter panels, and to mimic the '68 model, the fuel filler is relocated from the side to the top of the driver's rear fender.

An educated eye won't be tricked into thinking the C68 is the real thing. Katzeff can't hide the modern Challenger's thick A-pillars, reclined windshield, or the lack of front quarter glass, but his conversion is convincing enough to fool most gawkers. Crucially, the C68 Carbon gets the proportions right, helped by the fact that the 2022 Challenger's wheelbase is only an inch shorter than that of the '68 Charger. The carbon-fiber body extends the Challenger's nose by 6 inches and the tail by 4 inches to match the length of the original, while the deft design work masks the fact that the C68 is three inches taller and almost four inches wider. The quality of the build left us impressed, especially considering that carbon-fiber doesn't allow for fine-tuning each installation the way steel would. It's safe to say Chargers didn't leave the factory looking this good back in 1968.
Katzeff lets the style sell the car. The only other noteworthy modifications are a set of Forgeline wheels and Katzkin leather installed over the seats and on the door panels. The car is otherwise untouched from when it left the factory. That means it's loaded with modern conveniences and can be serviced at any Dodge dealership. It also means that this $349,000 example has the same dashboard as a $33,000 V-6 Challenger.

SEE ALL 43 PHOTOS

​

​

2022 ExoMod C68 Carbon Specifications
BASE PRICE	$329,000
PRICE AS TESTED	$349,000
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front-engine, RWD, 5-pass, 2-door coupe
ENGINE	6.2L supercharged port-injected OHV 16-valve 90-degree V-8
POWER (SAE NET)	797 hp @ 6,300 rpm
TORQUE (SAE NET)	707 lb-ft @ 4,500 rpm
TRANSMISSION	8-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	4,430 lb (57/43%)
WHEELBASE	116.0 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	208.0 x 80.5 x 56.0 in
0-60 MPH	4.0 sec
QUARTER MILE	11.9 sec @ 126.7 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	110 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.89 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	25.6 sec @ 0.78 g (avg)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON	N/A
EPA RANGE, COMB	N/A
ON SALE	Now

 

[Wild one]

A Hellcat by Another Name​

Fire the 6.2-liter V-8 and lay into the throttle, and the C68 unleashes an unmistakable combination of shrieking supercharger and booming exhaust that carries across county lines. Driving this throwback is the usual Hellcat hootenanny, with your right foot alternately toe-tapping the throttle to harness as much of the 797 horsepower and 707 lb-ft of torque as the tires will allow.
Those Nitto NT555 G2 tires at the rear measure 315/35R20, 10 millimeters wider than the Redeye's stock 305s, but they're still not enough to rein in Dodge's unholy beast. As with stock Hellcats, you launch the C68 in second gear using about 30 percent throttle and the self-restraint of a nun. Anything more aggressive than that turns your launch into an awesome but slow-moving smoke show. Our best run in the eXoMod C68 Carbon yielded a 4.0-second sprint to 60 mph and a 11.9-second quarter mile. Those times land in line with a Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye we tested back in 2019, although we also saw a second example run to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds that year.
In a December 1967 cover-story comparison test headlined "Super Cars,"MotorTrend's test team pedaled a 440-cubic-inch, 375-hp 1968 Charger R/T to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds and through the quarter mile in 14.9 seconds at 94 mph. We never tested the 425-hp Hemi, but we can confidently say that no 1968 Charger could move like the C68. It's also hard to imagine a restomod improving on what Dodge's massive development budget afforded. The C68 isn't just a better car based on power alone, of course. The eight-speed automatic transmission and modern tires and all the engineering finesse that ties the car into a cohesive whole make the C68 Carbon both wilder and more civilized than its inspiration.


SEE ALL 43 PHOTOS

Driving Into the 21st Century​

Hellcats get no respect when their handling is held to the high standards set by the Chevy Camaro ZL1 andFord Mustang Shelby GT500, but the frame of reference changes when your car looks like it drove off the set ofBullitt.In that 1967 comparison,MotorTrendmused, "Just how far can you go with a 4,000-pound car with a 117-inch wheelbase and inordinately biased to the front?"
It's taken a half century to get to this point, but the answer to that question would have scrambled the brains of 1967's editorial staff. The carbon-bodied "Charger" weighs 4,430 pounds, which makes it about 60 to 90 pounds lighter than a stock widebody Hellcat Redeye. That's significantly less than the 450-pound savings that eXoMod claims and hardly enough to make a dynamic difference in a Hellcat's performance, but by 1960s muscle car standards, the C68 might as well be a Lotus. It's easy to place and predictable in the way it corners, even if it's not exactly sharp and immediate.

Back in '67, we also lamented that, "Cubic inches and comfort are both heavy, and in this case they cancel out any major improvements in suspension modifications." All these years later, Dodge's big coupe still places a high priority on comfort, ceding the fight over best-handling brags to Chevy and Ford. That gives the C68 a genuine spiritual connection to the Charger it imitates. Even as the C68 posts a decent 0.89 g's of cornering grip, the body lolls through turns with a silly-fun amount of lean.
Due to a supply issue, the C68 Carbon we tested wore Pirelli P Zero front tires, size 285/35R20, instead of the Nittos customers get. Hellcats leave the factory with same-size front and rear tires in a feeble attempt to minimize understeer in these nose-heavy cars, but eXoMod uses narrow front rubber for aesthetics and clearance. Dynamically, though, it's a compromise. The C68's 25.6-second figure-eight lap ranks more than a second behind the fastest Challenger Redeye in our record book. (The eXoMod's 60-0-mph braking distance also stretched 8 feet longer.) You can vanquish understeer with a jab of the throttle, but the long arcs of our racetrack-in-a-bottle course require patience, a virtue in short supply among Hellcat drivers.

SEE ALL 43 PHOTOS

 

[HemiLonestar]

I've dug the C68 since they released it, but then they couldn't help themselves and had to do a Daytona (D69). Not so much a fan of that one.



Then this was suggested and I wasn't really digging the thought of a vintage Demon stretched out over the proportions of a modern Challenger.

 

[Wild one]

I've dug the C68 since they released it, but then they couldn't help themselves and had to do a Daytona (D69). Not so much a fan of that one.

View attachment 544495View attachment 544494

Then this was suggested and I wasn't really digging the thought of a vintage Demon stretched out over the proportions of a modern Challenger.

View attachment 544496

Actually it was their early Demon that i did like,i thought it looked more in proportion then their Charger conversions did.Either way,unless i win the big lottery,i'm not to worried about buying either,lol

 

[HemiLonestar]

Actually it was their early Demon that i did like,i thought it looked more in proportion then their Charger conversions did.Either way,unless i win the big lottery,i'm not to worried about buying either,lol

Buddy of mine has a '71, I've always wanted one, had Dusters and Dart but Demons were always a rarity where I grew up. We were looking at this front end rendering and didn't hate it, other than there's too many lights up front lol, but relatively speaking the A body is a small(ish) car. If they could pare the dimensions back down somewhat......but wholesale agreement with that price tag