The Hurst Challenger Series 4 is a limited-production “gentleman’s hot-rod”.
If you like cars at all, you have most likely stumbled across an automotive auction on TV. Auction workers screaming at bidders interested in a low-mileage piece of automotive history. I am currently in the driver’s seat of a rumbling and gurgling piece of future automotive history, the
2009 Hurst Challenger Series 4. A supercharged beast of a modern muscle car that will be built in very limited quantities. This car that I have been given the keys to is wearing a dash badge reading “No.00001”. Don’t expect too many low-mileage examples in the future though; Hurst is building these bad boys to be driven daily. For one great weekend, I did just that.
My journey with the Hurst Challenger started not with the car, but with the company and the men behind it. I drove over to the headquarters of Hurst Performance Vehicles which was located just 3 miles from the NADAguides.com offices. I was met by Chairman Nate Shelton, President Ron Flint, and Vice President of Sales & Dealer Relationships Tony Baumgartner. Later in the weekend I met with Chris Phillips, the CEO of the company. One thing was clear in talking with all of these guys… they
love cars. They love cars and they also love the Hurst brand. It was truly a pleasure to listen to Nate talk about his background with SEMA and how that fits so well with the company. I enjoyed talking to Tony about the Hurst interaction with dealers and how his product is such a great added benefit for all customers, not just those looking for a limited edition muscle car. I had a blast talking to Chris about muscle cars, new and old. It was a true pleasure to walk the factory floor with Ron and have him point out every little detail that makes a Hurst Challenger so unique.
Ron and I spent time simply staring at the car before he gave me the keys. Their designer, Charles Taylor, spent a lot of time providing the Hurst Challenger with special touches and features that really make it stand out against a normal Dodge Challenger. The rear spoiler flows out rather than up for a sense of speed when the car is standing still. The classically-styled wheels mimic the original Hurst design (Hurst was the first company to produce a modular mag wheel) yet the hubs are sunken in to give them a more modern aesthetic. The iconic pistol-grip shifter is exactly what you would expect on this 6-speed manual transmission equipped car, except that this modern car has a leather boot whereas the original was exposed. So Charles brought the HURST lettering up through the knob rather than having it hidden beneath the boot or forcing it somewhere it didn’t look right. The suspension is equal height front and rear, but to bring in an old school touch the sidewalls of the rear tires are slightly bigger than the front tires, which gives the car a very subtle raked stance. Ron was clearly proud of his designer, his car and the Hurst name as a whole.
I was given the long history of the company, which is firmly entrenched in the world of the American automobile. Hurst started in 1958 and has been synonymous with “go-fast” parts and special edition vehicles ever since. If your car has a Hurst shifter on it, it was a simple upgrade; but it was the right upgrade. Once you wrap your hands around it, the car feels more ready for business time. The same holds true to this day with the Hurst Challenger and it is a car that is definitely ready to run.
The 6.1L HEMI is clearly visible and looks good with the addition of the Vortec supercharger.
This particular car started off life as a fully-loaded
2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 with a sticker price right around the $42,000 mark. Hurst has taken the car and applied one of their transformations on the vehicle. Among their Performance Series options are a Series 2, 3, 4, or 5. They also have a slightly tamer package known as the
Competition Plus. This particular car is a Series 4 vehicle and it is No.0001 of about 50 vehicles total to be produced.
The Series 4 upgrade costs $29,150 over the price of the Challenger SRT8 and gets you the following:
-The Hurst “Pistol-Grip Shifter
-Hurst 20” polished forged wheels
-Hurst exterior graphics and badges
-Katzkin leather interior with a prominent Hurst logo
-BF Goodrich KDW performance tires
-Magnaflow cat-back exhaust
-Eibach coil-over suspension and sway bar
-Hurst rear spoiler
-a black car cover with gold racing stripes
-Vortech supercharger
-Hurst floor mats
-Series 4 sequentially numbered interior dash plaque
-Limited edition paint scheme; Black with Hurst gold racing stripes
The car starts with the push of a button and the rumble of a 6.1L HEMI engine with a Vortech supercharger strapped to it. It growls and it whines and it all sounds fantastic. The Dodge Challenger is a car that sounds good - but the Hurst Challenger is a car that sounds truly awesome. It is rated at 572 hp and 528 lb-ft of torque all aching to be released through those rear wheels. On paper this car should be a handful, but thanks to the centrifugal supercharger it is incredibly docile around town. I was even able to get the car cruising at over 20 mpg on the highway. Once you feel like putting the pedal down further however, the beast awakes from its slumber, the supercharger clicks into action and my back becomes very well acquainted with the comfortable seat. The wide rear wheels fight for grip, but they do so admirably and the car shoots forward in a hurry. As my speed increases, I upshift while never hunting for a gear. The pistol grip shifter feels great in my hand and its throws are incredibly short and very precise. The Eibach suspension keeps the car comfortably planted for such a big coupe and the Brembo brakes help bring everything back down to
sane in a hurry.
When I was speaking with Ron, one term he kept using was “gentleman’s hot-rod” which I found quite fitting for this car. I already feel that the normal Challenger is a little more exclusive than the Mustang and the Camaro. Mustang GTs and Camaro SSs are prowling the streets on a regular basis right now. The Challenger is a rarer sighting and can still cause a stir. The price point of the Hurst Challenger keeps it out of reach of even more buyers and the exclusivity is something that appeals to those affluent enough to spend over $70,000 on a two-door boulevard cruiser.
This concept works for them however. People love to wax nostalgic about the bygone era of proper muscle cars, in reality though most people would find that actually driving a classic is no easy task. The transmission doesn’t shift smoothly, there is no power steering, and the brakes are down-right terrifying. The Hurst Challenger allows a lucky few to relive the feeling of a great time in American motoring history and to do so with satellite radio and navigation, heated leather seats, a precise shifting Tremec 6-speed manual transmission, confidence-inspiring Brembo brakes, and a 570 hp 6.1L supercharged Hemi that gets over 20 mpg. The cost of entry is high, but the payoff is wonderful.
The Hurst Challenger is exactly what the people at Hurst say it is. It is a gentleman’s hot-rod that appeals to a different demographic than the Mustang and Camaro crowd. Sure, those other pony car owners would love to get their hands on a Hurst Challenger but it is out of the reach of a large percentage of the population. It is limited in quantity. It is expensive. Most importantly though, is that it is simply excellent to drive. It is not a canyon carver, but a strip cruiser. It is not a high-performance race car, but a powerful street prowler. It is not a hermetically sealed low-mileage Barrett-Jackson special, but a daily-driven gentleman’s hot-rod… built by a team that is passionate, and that passion shines through all facets of the Hurst Challenger. From the way they talk about this car, to their history, to their plans for the future; the Hurst team is built upon years of experience in all the right places of the industry. Right now, their pyramid for success is capped with a stylishly modern retro-inspired muscle car of a keystone.