Meet the “Tantrum,” a 1970 Dodge Charger that has recently rolled into Jay Leno’s Garage, this car has an insane amount of customization and modifications, without really looking the part. If you stood far enough back, you could mistake it for a ‘normal’ second-generation Charger. The really impressive part about that is that this is actually a SEMA car! SEMA builds aren’t exactly known for their grace and subtlety…
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The classic Chargers were massive pieces of machinery. Modern cars may reach closer to the sun, but the classic Charger was truly just a long and wide car. Its massive body and silhouette are iconic, so it’s nice to see that the builders at SpeedKore Performance didn’t alter that about this Charger.
What they did change about the body is they lightened it up a good bit. The fenders, hood, and front bumper are all carbon fiber. The fenders were made using the original fenders as the molds, but the hood is a custom creation. It’s not too over the top, but it is raised a little for extra clearance. The carbon fiber front is subtle and fades into the black paint from the doors back – very tastefully done! The Tantrum’s rear bumper is also carbon fiber, and taillights are integrated in from a modern Challenger.
Inside, you’ll find a customized interior that compliments the exterior perfectly. For this part of the job, the car with shipped off for the upholstery work. The shifter is very true to the original with a carbon fiber handle. There’s also custom gauges on the dash to carry on with the resto-mod theme.
Under the hood (held down by 3D printed hood pins) is where it gets even more interesting. A monstrous 1,350 horsepower (on pump gas), twin-turbo (with 26-psi. of boost) 9.0L Mercury Racing engine with a quad cam and 4V setup. It’s essentially a boat motor that you can throw into a car. It’s backed by a Tremec T-56.
When Jay gets in to drive, the car seems a little dicey. It seems like he learned why the Tantrum was named as such — the car was a bit of a handful. The tires seem to want to roast in most gears, and it gets hostile over 1/2 throttle. It’s such a hard to control car that Jay actually let the guest take over and do the burnout this time.
Elizabeth is hardcore horsepower enthusiast with unmatched intensity for making things faster and louder. She wakes up for power and performance and only sleeps to charge up for the next project that’s heading to the track. From autocross to drag racing, Elizabeth is there with you, so stay tuned for her unique perspective on horsepower news, builds, tech info, and installs — with her, it’ll never be boring!
