Without preface: I am delighted with this car. The unique shape of the roof, which I have never seen anywhere else. The absence of a steering wheel, which makes it similar to such classic works of the last century as Predicta, X-Sonic or Beatnik Bandit. Yes, definitely not a road show car, but, nevertheless, absolutely all the details are working, and if you really want to ride it. Personally, it seems to me that this is exactly what Ed Roth would have built if he had been born fifty years later. In my eyes, this Chrysler is a true descendant of the show families of the past, and it is a pity that there are very few such crazy and radical projects. And, as usual, there are only a few paragraphs of information specifically about this car.
Nevertheless, it should be enough for us. So, a man with the very appropriate nickname Madman, Frankie Valenti, the owner of the 20Hz Audio workshop in the Canadian city of Toronto, took the risk to build such an uncompromising machine.
“I wanted everything in this car to be guaranteed to work as well as it looks. I’ve seen so many projects that look beautiful, but in which none of the gadgets work properly, or more importantly, these cars don’t drive or even start. This SRT-8 300C starts up, drives and burns rubber perfectly.”
Frankie personally demonstrates the latter in the following video:
The most radical change is, of course, the extremely unusual shape of the roof. Or rather, what’s left of it. But since in modern cars the body and frame are one, in order to maintain the structural integrity of the car, the cut-off part of the roof was, in fact, returned back. This is what causes the thickness and a certain clumsiness of the shapes – still, the days when the frame was on its own and you could safely do anything with the body of the car are in the past.
With a modern monocoque, it is hardly possible to make it even better and more beautiful... Although, on the other hand, it's as if most people don't even try. While Comrade Valenti has clearly demonstrated, if not the best, then certainly the most creative approach, for which he deserves respect and respect.
The rest of the car’s body was also not spared. The rear doors became rear-hinged, the front – dihedral. All bumpers, headlights, and radiator grille are custom. All the handles are shaved off. The interior of the car has been completely redesigned: I have already mentioned the absence of a steering wheel, control is now carried out using a small disk on the console between the front seats. In addition, the car has a powerful Sony audio system, as well as an iPad and PlayStation 3.
And while the Predicate had one TV, the red Chrysler had 18 LCD displays, plus another one with a diagonal of 42 inches, which rises out of the trunk at the touch of a button.
And, since the car was planned to be fully operational, the engine, as you could see, was also not spared. The modifications are relatively simple, but at the same time they are more than pleasant. A complete set of spare parts from BDS. Yes, unlike most hot rods, there is no team solyanka and amateur performances. On the other hand, BDS stands for Supercharging Drive Service – behind the modest, almost Soviet in its directness name and the same modest website hides a company that has existed since 1969, offering classic superchargers from modest 4-71 to monstrous 14-71 for a wide variety of engines (yes, including modern Hemi). As well as a complete set of related products for adjusting the engine to the new parameters of the fuel-air mixture.
In a 1995 article in Hot Rod magazine, BDS ranks alongside names like Weiand and B&M. In general, the guys from BDS have definitely earned a positive reputation over the decades and know their business.
So, in fact, the engine is more BDS than factory. The fuel supply system, intake, exhaust and, of course, supercharging are all from BDS. Whether there were any problems with the installation is unknown, but when a car is being redesigned so thoroughly, then, of course, you don’t have to deal with limited under-hood space or something like that. The suspension was also not ignored: Air Ride pneumatics were installed, which allows the car to fully press itself to the ground in the photos. Sportier brakes were also put under the inflated powertrain, and then the whole thing was put on huge 24-inch Asanti AF128 discs.
Of course, we don't have any information about performance, and it's unlikely that we will. It is only known that the engine in the car, apparently, remained at the factory volume of 6.1.
Overall, it turned out to be an excellent show car, fully functional and very original. The only sad thing is that the car in this form did not last long: the project was completed in 2009, and just two or three years later, owner Kirk Bhagan decided to rebuild it for a Bentley. Personally, I liked the old version better: the red color, in my opinion, went much better with the interior, and the European design lacks the necessary amount of chrome and muscularity.
On the other hand, the most pleasant thing is to see that the car is still not only alive, but also in perfect working condition. All the monitors are in place, the air suspension is working, and the engine is also doing its job. And this is more than ten years later – the last videos are dated 2023. Chrysler continues to visit various Canadian auto shows and collect awards.
Speaking of auto shows. Interesting fact: the car was seen both at exhibitions for tuner enthusiasts, such as Importfest, and at exhibitions for fans of the American custom scene, such as Performance World. Apparently, this Chrysler is welcomed in both categories: fans of modern tuning can appreciate at least the impressive electronic stuffing, while fans of quarter-mile racing will certainly be interested in the engine.
In general, I am just very happy that such projects, although in isolated examples, are still found. Nowadays, when even modern muscle cars themselves are becoming rarer every day, and the custom scene is giving way to simply preserving vintage and not-so-vintage cars, I personally am very pleased to see something so crazy and radical, combining a variety of ideas and solutions. Pure creativity, not looking back at anything and not stopping at anything. It is completely original, combining the approaches of different tuning and customization scenes – and at the same time does not fit completely into any of them.
