Speedkore’s Hallucination Dodge Charger is no regular muscle car, and its owner, Ralph Gilles has created a mechanical artwork.
Muscle cars are the epitome of car culture in America, and this Hellucination 1968 Dodge Charger built by SpeedKore, is one such car. This full carbon fiber-bodied Dodge Charger belongs to the same man who had a major design influence on cars like the Chrysler 300 and the 5th-generation SRT Viper.
Ralph Gilles, the current Chief Design Officer at the Stellantis Group, is the proud owner of what is easily the coolest Charger classic car restomod we’ve seen so far. Ralph’s garage in Detroit has a few other interesting cars, like an Alfa Romeo GTB, a Lancia Delta Evo, a Peugeot 205 GTI, an ACR Viper, and an Alfa Romeo GT restomod that he built in his living room. So that’s two Alfa Romeos in one garage; he clearly loves Giorgetto Giugiaro’s work.
He talks about how he likes putting things together to Rob Dahm from TopGear, soon after which he turns to the Hellucination Dodge Charger: his most recent whip. For this particular car, he had to loop in the professionals to finish the project.
Ralph Gilles Is No Regular Dodge Charger Enthusiast
Ralph has had a fascination for Mopar, having grown up watching TV shows about them, but the Charger was his hero car. The Hellucination Dodge Charger is a combination of various aspects in modern cars, classic cars, and race cars, according to Ralph – and he’s put it all into this special build.
When he found it for the first time, it was a rusty barn find. The cowl remained the same, but Speedkore took care of the rest of the car. They had to start from scratch, which included a custom chassis and the all-carbon fiber body, built around one of 100 Hellephant engines.
Hellucination Dodge Charger Is The Modern General Lee
This Dodge Charger also comes fitted with air conditioning and a sound system. Ralph wanted the car to look like a sketch even when it is seen charging down the road. A moving sculpture of sorts – and that’s what gave this Charger its stance.
The car sits low, and the turbine wheel design drew its inspiration from the General Lee Charger from the Dukes of Hazard. The whole underfloor of the car is like the tub found on bleeding-edge sports cars. The entire tub creates the transmission tunnel, which makes room for the whole drivetrain to live deep inside the car, resulting in the car being very stiff.
More than an old-school muscle car, it drives like a racer, says Ralph. The interior of the Hellucination Charger is loosely inspired by the 1968 model, and that means the dashboard more-or-less flaunts the same design. Even those six huge gauges are iconic. Cape Customs in California worked on the upholstery; it was all made in Milwaukee and then sent over to California.
Inside The Awesome Restomod Dodge Charger
The sport bucket seats are Recaros, which again, is less of a muscle car and more of a race car. The steering wheel was machined from a solid billet, and the diameter of this steering is the same as that of the original. It looks sporty and retro at the same time.
The entire console, comprising the controls and dials that power the windows and air conditioning, has been 3D printed. There’s no radio; instead, it gets Bluetooth audio. The gear shifter has been taken from the Redeye Hellcat Charger. The pedals are 3D-printed centered aluminum.
Ralph further states that his daughter was instrumental in designing the gauges and the Helephant, which is similar to what you see on the Charger production car. She also helped him choose the colors, which is why you see the anodized orange merging well with the black and all that stitching.
There’s even a roll cage, which happens to be a crucial part of the build. The cages go all the way back to the suspension load points. This also significantly contributes to the safety of the muscle car, and the best part is you’ll barely realize there’s a roll cage in the back. It’s been integrated so well that it’s become a part of the car’s body.
A Limited Production Engine Powers The Dodge Charger
After Ralph pops the hood open, a massive all-aluminum 426 7.0-liter engine reveals itself; it’s also bigger than the engine found in the production Redeye Hellcat Charger. The engine seems so beautifully integrated, without wires sticking out. The packaging makes it look like a work of art.
Ralph goes on to say that, at car meets, everyone wants to look at the engine – and this is something Speedkore strongly considered when putting the engine together because presenting the engine is crucial to gear heads. The hood opens forwards like some of the Dodge Vipers from the past.
Ralph finally takes the car out of the garage, and to our surprise, it doesn’t rumble or growl like a typical V8 muscle car. It sounds refined. It’s only when he puts his down to the floor will you hear a growl – that too, it’s kinda mellow. A look underneath the Hellucination Charger reveals great packaging, just like the engine – everything is neatly hidden away.
Sources: Top Gear, Speedkore, Ralph Gilles Via Instagram
