G5 meets up with Challenger designer at SEMA

One of the highlights during my visit at SEMA was when Chris and I met up with Mike Castiglione and his brother Frank. Mike is the guy who penned the final exterior design for the new Dodge Challenger that you see cruising the roads today. Mike and I can relate in many ways being Industrial Designers. Mike did a phenominal job with the new Chally Design, so all we decided to do with our G5 packages was to compliment it, not redesign it into something it's not. Mike and his brother Frank were able to check out the latest G5 Challenger T/A we brought and we where extatic to hear that they gave the car two thumbs up. Having the original designer's blessing on our G5 Challenger meant a lot to us. Special thanks to Mike and Frank for hangin' out with us and talkin' cars!

In case you haven't seen this before, here's a great video interview with Michael Castiglione and Alan Barrington discussing the design and influences for the new Challenger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paY4y7K1fuM&feature=channel

"TWISTED" makes news for K&N Air Filters

K&N Filters just posted up a great write-up on their site in the news section on the latest G5 Challenger T/A "TWISTED". To see the article and check out the cold air intake system they offer for the Dodge Challenger click on the link below. Thanks again K&N!!!

http://www.knfilters.com/news/news.aspx?ID=2390

G5 Challenger - Project:TWISTED Slide Show

It's late but I got the photos uploaded to my flickr account and I made a slide show for viewing 30+ photos of the Yellow G5 Challenger Project:TWISTED. I will be posting more details about some of our sponsors, their products, and where & when you can get them. Enjoy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43100116@N03/sets/72157622772979682/show/

G5 Challenger SEMA Show Pics - 1

Due to some technical difficulties during SEMA, I was unable to update the blog. I've been downloading pics of the Challenger and posting them. The show was good for Group 5 Ltd. this year. Displaying the car outside and not working a booth allowed Chris and myself freedom to walk the show. The bright yellow G5 Chally got a lot of attention especially the T/A Hood! This 2009 R/T was transformed from a silver metallic stock Challenger into the killer show car you see here. Custom paint including full color change, T/A hood, front and rear G5 fascias, wheels, tires, interior, and more! Stay tuned for more pics and details on the G5 Challenger.

SEMA 2009 - Day 1

We finally got the G5 Chally all set up and ready late last night. Had to add the sponsors to the car. Today is day 1 and the Challenger is generating a lot of interest. I don't have much to type right now but will post more pics tonight. For now, check these out. First time pics of the new Scott Drake Aluminum Fuel Cap assembly included!

Team G5 Off To SEMA!

Project:TWISTED is done and on the trailer. Got a long drive tonight to get it to the convention center by morning. I thought I'd post a couple more pics before it gets too late. I'll get some shots in the morning and post 'em up.

Crunch Time for SEMA!!!

I flew into Phoenix last night and made it out here to G5 Challenger headquarters! Right away I rolled up my sleaves and jumped in to help out with last minute details on the New G5 Project. I had a chance to take some teaser pics for you guys and get 'em posted up today. The car is real close to being finished and ready to leave tonite. In the meantime enjoy the pics of Project Twisted.

I wish I could post pics of this beautiful new part before SEMA. Scott Drake will be doing a full release on this at SEMA and we will be sure to follow that up with a ton of pics during the show. Stay Tooned!

The satin black G5 T/A hood looks awesome. The fit and finish are real nice as well.

Petrol Traviata wheels and Nitto Invo tires look bad-to-the-bone!!!!

Here's an in progress shot of the G5 Chally coming together! More pics tomorrow!

K&N Cold Air Induction System Install on "TWISTED"

K&N 63-1114 63 Series Air Charger Intake kit System

We are proud to have K&N as a sponsor on our latest G5 Challenger project for SEMA '09. K&N makes a high quality CAI with superior performance! The K&N cold air intake kit is engineered to smooth and straighten airflow by reducing intake restriction. Want your Challenger to be able to gulp down more air making more power to the tune of 20+ bolt on horsepower? Then you need one of these CAI kits from K&N!

Back in the day guys could wrench away on their muscle cars in their driveway or backyard with basic hand tools and a little know-how. Muscle cars today are a little different story. There's computers, sensors, complex wiring harnesses, etc. that make wrenchin' on new Detroit iron a bit more difficult at times. No worries though with the K&N CAI kit - add 20+ horsepower like a pro in short time with basic hand tools and a little bit of time. Most K&N intake kits are relatively easy to install using basic hand tools most of you have laying around in your garage.

Shown here is the installed K&N CAI kit. Not only does it have a clean factory look to it but it's also much more aggressive and freer breathing over the restricted factory setup. Now the last step of the procedure (not shown in the instructions) is to take it out for a test drive and see how well your rear tires hold up!

For more information on K&N and their product line please check out their site at www.knfilters.com

*Special thanks to Lucio from K&N Engineering, Inc.

Nitto Tire Sponsors G5 Challenger for SEMA '09

Nitto tires have always been a favorite tire brand for this author so I'm a little biased. I've had Nitto tires on a couple of my cars and have always been very impressed with their performance. I'm on my second set of Nitto Drag Radials and not only do they look killer but they knocked off 3/10s of a second just by mounting them up on the back wheel on my Drag Mustang putting me into the 12s for the first time.

Group 5 Ltd. also used a set of Nitto 555R Drag radials on the G5 Sam Posey Challenger to help the 500+ horsepower get off the line and down the drag strip. The 60 ft. times were greatly improved on the Posey Challenger in spite of the fact that it has a road race style suspension on it.

This year Nitto sent us a set of it's aggressive ultra-high performance Invo street tires. The no-compromise asymmetrical tread pattern design delivers supreme performance, ride refinement, and quality! Plus they look SICK!

Special thanks goes out to Nitto Tire for not only helping us out with a great product for SEMA this year, but they even managed to deliver us a set of tires in record time.

For more info on INVO tires and other great Nitto products please stop by their site at http://www.nittotire.com/

Petrol Wheels for Project:Twisted

Ever since I saw these 3-piece Traviata Wheels by Petrol I thought that they'd look outstanding on a Challenger! The wheels showed up about a week ago and here's a couple picks Chris took for me to post up for now. The next time you see these wheels they should be bolted onto the Lemon Twist Yellow G5 Chally. The rendering gives you a good idea of how they should look. We opted for the 20s instead of 22s since the car would be driven a lot and thrashed on the track. As always, the formula for the G5 Challengers is balanced performance. 22s look great don't get me wrong but they get heavier, and the wider sizes they come in start getting real tight inside the wheel wells. This car will see drag strip and road course thrashing so we decided to keep with the 20s as the all around best choice for our ride. The Traviata wheels by Petrol really have a beautifully muscular look with the polished lip and machined spokes. The black mask spray painted areas between the spokes will really compliment the blacked out areas on "Twisted". For more info on Petrol wheels check out their site at http://www.petrolwheels.com/

Paint By Simon Lays Down Killer Paint!

Once again Group 5 Ltd. calls on Simon Evans of Paint By Simon to lay down the custom Lemon Twist Yellow and satin black paint scheme for the latest G5 Challenger. As usually his skills don't disappoint and the Chally looks killer even before it's finished. Special props go out to Simon for all his awesome work and for hangin' in there during near 100 degrees out at the G5 shop in Arizona. Besides his show-quality paint jobs, Simon can paint anything from stripes to custom airbrushed graphics and artwork on anything. Make sure to stop by http://www.paintbysimon.com/ and check out some of his show-stopping work!

The G5 fascias really set the Group 5 Challengers apart from the rest of the pack - shown here being prepped before paint.

Lemon Twist Yellow Satin?? No, just the first coats of yellow paint...

Here's a teaser of the newly painted stripe and first layer of gloss paint...

Group 5 Limited Brings Another Wicked G5 Challenger to SEMA!

Well it's that time of year again and Group 5 is bringing yet another stunning G5 Challenger to the SEMA party! G5 took a 2009 Challenger R/T and transformed it into a G5 Challenger bolting on unique, and aggressive front and rear fascias. The factory hood just wasn't aggressive enough so a fiberglass G5 T/A hood was bolted on and sprayed satin black. A matching satin black G5 rear spoiler compliments the hood. Then a T/A style side stripe complimenting the the body sides adds the finishing touch to the Lemon Twist Yellow exterior paint scheme. For more pics and info stay tuned or stop by the SATA booth in Hot Rod Alley and ask about PROJECT:TWISTED at SEMA 2009!