After crafting his legacy with race-tuned versions of Ford's ubiquitous Mustang, Steve Saleen's turning his attention to another retro muscle car: the 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T.
Tuned by SMS, Saleen's newest venture, the SMS 570 and SMS 570X both make do with the R/T's standard 5.7-liter "Hemi" V-8. Although that motor pumps out 375 hp straight from Chrysler, the SMS cars reportedly will produce 500 and 700 hp, courtesy of an added supercharger.
We're not sure of what other tricks SMS has in store for the Challenger, aside from the company's claims that both cars will wear "high performance" driveline, suspension, and aerodynamic parts. From the artist's rendering, the package is discrete; apart from a more aggressive front fascia and larger wheels, there's little visual differentiation between the SMS Challenger and a normal SRT8 or R/T model.
As production of the '09 Challenger won't commence until later this fall, don't expect the SMS models to appear any time beforehand. Production numbers will be limited, so if the idea of a Saleen-prepped Challenger floats your boat, act quickly.