LX and Beyond Nationals

 
Last month, our friends at Landmark Dodge and Speed Factory came all the way from Georgia to hang out with the LX enthusiasts at Spring Fest 6 event in Irvine, California. In their display was their newest weapon of mass destruction to come out their Atlanta arsenal of modified late-model muscle cars. The 2010 Challenger SF500 (‘500’ designates either the horsepower or torque output of the specific model) Speed Factory’s “entry level” model for customer’s looking to venture into the Supercharged dimension of boost and all the greatness it offers under one’s right foot. If 500 horsepower 5.7L HEMI® is considered entry level, then sign us up. Here their proven formula for success continues by offering enthusiasts fully warranty turn-key super cars. The team at Speed Factory doesn’t get sideways by tacking on aftermarket body kits that add extra pounds and drives up the cost of the vehicle. Instead their focus is on power train and suspension enhancements that will shock and awe their owners with a double barrel shot of adrenaline aimed straight at their brain.
The SF500 begins its transformation to a giant killer once it arrives at the dealership. The engine is basically left stock as to keep the sticker price down and not impact the factory warranty. The Vortech Centrifugal Supercharger is the primary power adder that takes the stock 5.7L from 372 horses to over 500. The magic is in the specially calibrated tune that Vortech engineers and Speed Factory have collaborated on. What’s just as sweet, the package is CARB approved and certified so it’s compliant in all 50 states and carries a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty through Speed Factory.
Speed Factory Performance Manager and drag strip hot shoe Eddie Rosa threw us the keys and away we went tearing up the roads and runways at the decommissioned El Toro Marine/Naval Air Base. Our first impression when we turned the key on the SF500 was a slightly noticeable rumble thanks to the Magnaflow Cat-Back Exhaust System (6.1L and 392 models are fitted with Corsa plumbing). What’s really cool is factory chrome tips are used on the Magnaflow units and give the SF500 somewhat a ‘sleeper’ image to unsuspecting Mustang GT and Camaro SS owners. . However, once we put our foot into it, the jig is up as the Vortech Centrifugal Supercharger begins to spool up and rams volumes of air through intake manifold and heads at an alarming rate. Our SF500 was equipped with the production five-speed automatic and even with the traction control partially engaged, the Goodyear’s threw in the towel when 530 ft.-lbs of torque burst on the scene.
The SF500 is not just a stop light racer capable of smoky burnouts at cruise nights, as it can turn corners with the best of them. The car has been lowered 1” in the front and 5/8” in the rear thanks to some Hotchkiss Sport Suspensions springs. The factory sway bars have also been upgraded to a beefier Hotchkiss units. Great looking 20’x9’ BBS CH-R wheels are used on four corners but with the factory production Goodyear RSA rubber mounted to them. The front brakes get upgraded to SRT units while the rears remain stock. All these little areas help keep costs down and bring the SF500 sticker price at $46,605.
Of course, the Speed Factory upgrade list is as long as the SF500’s burnout and as fat as your wallet. They include everything from the double smack down four-piston Brembos to an all-aluminum blown GENIII HEMI® that will make you go hunting for ZR1 Corvettes.
During our test drive, the SF500 seemed quite tame under normal driving situations and felt more like a showroom stocker. The traditional supercharger ‘whine” is kept to a minimum, therefore you can roll into social settings without tipping your hand of what’s really under the hood. After a quick check of our surroundings, we buried the fun pedal and where immediately plastered in our high back leather bucket seats. There was virtually no lag as the Vortech unit began making boost and spun up to 6 PSI. Right away the SF500’s rear started doing its happy dance and objects in front of us began closing in real fast. We quickly ran out real estate but improved brakes and suspension did their job and hauled the 4000 lb. plus Challenger to a safe speed.
Even though we had the use of a runway, we had no timing equipment to record quarter-mile ETs. However, Eddie has tested a similar equipped SF500 at their home track in Atlanta and has clicked off a string 12.60 time slips with trap speeds hovering around 110 MPH. We would have loved to driven the SF500 back east for our friends at Speed Factory but we had a plane to catch and they had another enthusiast event on the left coast to get ready for. Reluctantly we handed back the keys to this red rocket but the guys have promised us something even more sinister the next time we run into them. Hopefully that’ll be real soon!