If a rally car drives through the forest, does anybody care?
Of course, this isn’t really a rally car. It’s “rally-inspired”, built as a one-off by Mopar to celebrate a new business relationship with Magneti Marelli. Formula One fans will know MM as the constructors of various electronics and clutches.
“Our Dodge Avenger Rally car showcases Mopar’s new relationship with Magneti Marelli,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “Our companies worked closely together to bring this vehicle to life in a joint build that utilizes proven, quality-tested performance parts and accessories from Mopar and Magneti Marelli. We will gauge reaction to this vehicle and determine which parts will go into production.”
I’d be very surprised if any of the parts went into production. The Mopar Rally Avenger has enormous brakes front and rear with independent control of the rear brakes though a rally-style lever. There’s a new suspension which presumably allows the Avenger to chug along down dirt roads while still sitting 1.5 inches lower than stock. Perhaps the regular Avenger can ford streams at its ride height?
The stuff you can buy: a Mopar intake/exhaust package which allows the Pentastar to turn out a satisfying 300 horsepower, and a strut tower brace. If you’re looking for a true sign of the times in the modern era, it’s this: you can go buy a 300-horsepower domestic sedan for about $22K and nobody really cares.
If I had not been recently admonished by you, the readers of TTAC, to be a little more positive about things, I would say something about the fact that there are multiple private teams still running Neons in actual rally competition, right here in the United States, and it might have been nice to invite one or more of them to this particular party. You know, make it possible to buy stripped-out Avenger shells for RallyAmerica or whatnot. Perhaps Mopar could give the car to one of those teams when they’re done showing it off at the NYIAS next week.
Alternately, they could give it to me. I wouldn’t rally it, but there’s a class called “NASA Performance Touring C” for which this Avenger would be just right, and it would be competitive, even with its six-speed automatic transmission. I’ll be making this pitch to the Mopar folks in New York. If you’re there, feel free to suggest it to them as well, okay?
I am shocked, shocked to find out that the Caliber, which was supposed to be the Neon replacement, did not take off in the rally circuit.
a 300 hp avenger? wow thats a sleeper!. no one would beleive it, including the constabulary.
Sour grapes are sour, based on the grabber line of this article. Other than three prototype SRT4s I don’t think Dodge made any dedicated rally cars. The Neon just happened to be good enough to worm its way into every branch of motorsport with a little modification.
Nice environment to product development. I guess if need more than two doors of Mustang/Camaro but want FWD winter capability with 300 hp for the dry days this is the way to haul kids and groceries. Besides it’ll be as quick as a V6 Jap car with half the costs.
Dodge Avenger Rally Car
I’m sorry, there’s just something about that phrase that conjures up images of a future 24 Hours of LeMons rally race. Whatcha think? Phil? Jonny?
“Officer, this is an Avenger, it can’t go as fast as you claim I was driving…”
Alternately, they could give it to me. I wouldn’t rally it, but there’s a class called “NASA Performance Touring C” for which this Avenger would be just right, and it would be competitive, even with its six-speed automatic transmission. I’ll be making this pitch to the Mopar folks in New York. If you’re there, feel free to suggest it to them as well, okay?
Take your idea to Sergio directly. He’ll LOVE IT! And that would actually get me to watch racing again.
I only go for European inspired.
Would be nice to have a real American car in rallying (world) again. Maybe if Fiat is serious of taking Chrysler global this could be a way to advertize that?
I still like the Stormtrooper edition better as it had all wheel drive. That said I am glad they are working on something performance related that is inexpensive that isn’t a Caliber. Maybe this can be the new Avenger SRT-6? Maybe they can give it more Neonesque handling while they are at it.
“If a rally car drives through the forest, does anybody care?”
Only if there’s somebody famous (Justin Beiber, Ellen DeGeneres) being paid to be behind the wheel.
Frivolity aside, why aren’t auto companies putting serious effort into rally racing? I don’t care if it’s driving through the streets of a small town in Newfoundland, or suffering from Paris to Dakar – the cars in those races are the closest to the production vehicles that I can buy, and if a Dodge Avenger can withstand a 24 hour race, I might be interested in testing one.
Why aren’t more companies investing in rally? Simple – there hulking, inbred juggernaut that is NASCAR pushes even F1 to the back burner. There’s pretty much ZERO media coverage of rally in the United States these days.
We’ve got a fairly serious image problem. Real racers like Mr. Baruth will point out there are still a LOT of Neons, Golfs, and Volvo 240s proving themselves competitive as REAL race cars in REAL events, but the bulk of the “rally” coverage these days, it seems, is Kenny Block in his six-figure plaything, or maybe the odd WRX/EVO.
Rally needs more fans, volunteers, and competitors in North America, but when people think the cost of entry is a $30,000 Subaru with another $30,000 in modifications, they’re going to iron their flatbrims, grab an energy drink, and settle in for a couple more hours of Gran Turismo.
Time trialing isn’t exactly the most exciting form of competition to watch, regardless of sport. At least the stadium rally cross events pitch competitors against each other in a more immediately entertaining manner. Even in the Baja 1000, the most entertaining part is seeing what kind of booby traps the locals have cooked up this time.
@ stuki – Nothing beats standing in a forest and seeing, not to mention hearing, a rally car being hurled SIDEWAYS between trees, on wet mud and gravel at 130 mph IN THE DARK!
Try checking out Youtube for Group B rallying and just LISTEN to some of that! It’s awesome.
@stuki
Are you kidding? Sat in a stand being fed beer and hotdogs whilst on the other side of the track nearly half a mile away there is some interesting overtaking – but its impossible to see, compared to yomping up a mountainside, then along a dirt track to stand literally inches from a rally car hooning past at 90mph spraying you with mud? Yes there ‘appears’ to be less visible competition as the cars go by in rallying, but what other motor sports let you get nearly run over every time a car comes past? Of all the motor sports I’ve watched – track, oval, whatever – Rallying is by far an away the most exciting to be a spectator in. Especially when on occasions it is you – the spectator – which has to help roll a car over and push it back on the track!
Incidentally, I’d never have got photos like this:
http://snipurl.com/27skw1
stood at a track.
Hey! WAADEAMINIT! Did Subaru say you could take that wing?!?
I suggested rallying to my PR team at Mitsubishi Motors as a way to spark product interest, but no one thought the idea would sell to top management. I see nothing’s changed 10-12 years later.
If the rally car drives through the forests of Humboldt County for any length of time, chances are various federal agents will take notice, if nothing else.
Great place for rallying, btw. Didn’t Nascar kind of grow out of bootleggers outrunning the man in the South back in the day? Nothing motivates greatness like beating the man :)
My first car, back in UK, was a 1970 HILLMAN Avenger 1500 GL and I loved it.
They didn’t do great in rallying (the Ford Escort of the time was the rally master) but there were a number of very well sorted saloon car (sedan to you guys!) racing examples that did very well. As I recall they weren’t particularly powerful even for the times but were very well balanced and just about bullet-proof engine wise.
Of course, in those days 100 hp was pretty good. My road model had about 75 hp if I remember correctly. Top speed about 92 mph but it was very chuckable and, yes, FUN, even with a 14 second zero-to-sixty!
Man, we are so spoiled nowadays and, when all is said and done, are we really all that much better off for it.
I kinda like the old cars.