Truck-inspired Dodge Charger is turning heads, says 21-year-old who customized car
CBC
Lakeshore, Ont., car enthusiast Lucas Kiewitz had a dilemma: He liked the look of trucks, but he didn't like their size and handling.
That's why he came up with his unique "Dodge Charger TRX" — a body and suspension customization of the iconic Dodge muscle sedan that styles it like a Dodge Ram 1500 TRX pickup truck.
"I've always been a car guy," says Kiewitz, 21. "I've driven trucks before. They're just kind of too big for me."
Similar to the truck, Kiewitz's Charger has a three-inch lift and sits on off-road tires.
Its heavily modified matte black body is covered in the same material that's used for truck bed liner. "It's scratch resistant now," Kiewitz said. "Won't get any rock chips — nothing like that. And it looks mean."
The vehicle is based on a 2016 Dodge Charger that was originally used as a pursuit vehicle by Amherstburg police.
Kiewitz obtained the vehicle, but the real start of the passion project was a pencil drawing that he did on a piece of paper.
Part of Kiewitz's inspiration was seeing digital concept art of a "Raptorized" Ford Mustang, which styled the muscle car like a Ford Raptor off-road pickup truck.
Oscar Vargas, a Texas-based 3D artist who goes by @wb.artist20 on Instagram, has also done concept drawings of an off-road Charger and an off-road Challenger.
But those were fantasy renderings — pictures of vehicles that only exist in imagination.
Kiewitz's car is most assuredly real. He says it's received a lot of positive feedback at car shows and on social media. His TikTok videos showing off the car have accumulated almost 700,000 views.
"It's a 'double-take' car," Kiewitz said. "Most people, they see it, and then they look away. And they're like 'Wait a minute' — and they take a really good look at it."
All that explained, Kiewitz's modifications are essentially cosmetic: The "Dodge Charger TRX" still has the engine and components of an all-wheel drive police pursuit car — not a true off-road racing vehicle.
Kiewitz says the next phase of the project will be to get into the guts of the car and make it suitable for all-terrain action.
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