Yahoo Autos The eXoMod C68 Carbon is the Dodge Challenger Hellcat restomod that makes friends wherever you go
There are few mainstream performance cars with the pure charisma (or sheer length of title) of a Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye. After all, this is the car for the doctorate-level negotiator who looked at the standard Hellcat's 717-horsepower output and said, "Eh, are you sure you can't do any better than that?" But park that same Redeye next to this monster disguised as a 1968 Charger and you can kiss the day's attention goodbye; you won't be getting any of it.
Yep, forget Redeye. Forget Hellcat for that matter. Sure, it's cool as hell that eXoMod Concepts managed to wrap this carbon fiber "exoskeleton" around a modern unibody and Hellcat powertrain, but the mechanicals are frankly irrelevant. This thing absolutely exudes badassery. And in true Mopar fashion, its nomenclature comes in an American-sized mouthful. Officially, it's the 2021 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat C68 Carbon. Sure, it's no 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition, but people will still get tired of listening to your answer of “what kind of car do you drive?” As such, I'll be calling it the "68 Carbon" from now on if that's cool with you, because I don’t need to quicken my inevitable interphalangeal arthritis diagnosis.
Rather than waste keystrokes (and cartilage) on the 68 Carbon's titular endowment, I'll hit you with the details. In no small part due to its modern underpinnings, its body is 4 inches wider than an original 1968 Charger's. The completely custom body includes "bumblebee" stripes, a custom carbon fiber dual snorkel hood, a "68 Carbon" grille with vintage-style headlight coverage, 20-inch wheels (Forgeline in our case) fitted with Nitto NT555 G2s. Inside, you get custom Italian leather upholstery with some eXoMod flourishes. Frankly, there's not much to look at in there; the real party is outside.
Part of what makes the C68 Carbon so appealing is that there's officially no set specification. eXoMod has no intention to build them in volume, so one-off touches are allowed (provided you have the scratch); the car finished in Plum Crazy (above left) sold for a whopping $274,000 on Bring a Trailer back in May, and judging by eXoMod's currently published pricing, that buyer got a bit of a deal. The blue one (above right) is the example I got to play around with. If you ask me, we got the prettier wheels, but I will forever have a soft spot for Plum Crazy — the color of my (since sold) 2013 Challenger 392. And I thought that car had a big personality. This thing will demote even a minty Demon to wallflower status the moment it enters visual range.
You can see some other differences between the two cars above, but no matter how you choose to spec it, the care and craftsmanship that go into the build are readily apparent. The custom and reproduction parts impress and the build quality appears first-rate. And don't be fooled by superficialities; the side markers may look ridiculous on a car being sold in 2023, but that's a period-correct (and optional) touch. The clear-coated carbon weave looks absolutely stunning in person.
