Skip to main content

The Dodge Challenger A/T Untamed Concept will leave the Hellcat in the dust … literally

Dodge Challenger A/T Untamed Concept
Image used with permission by copyright holder
The Dodge Challenger Hellcat may be the cool kid at the dragstrip right now, but the A/T Untamed Concept could be the king of the dunes soon.

The brainchild of designer Joey Ruiter, the Untamed Concept pulls from two extremes of American motorsport: high-powered muscle cars and off-roading. Using those points as anchors, he’s created something raw, exciting, and primally unbound.

As Ruiter says, “Why should a car be limited to the road it drives on?”

The Challenger A/T starts with a truck chassis and is modified with long-travel suspension arms, body armor, skid plates, rock sliders, and loads of dune buggy-esque flair. The Challenger body is bolted on top, and the result is pretty menacing. All you’ll need is some spikes, black leather, and a sawed-off shotgun and you’ve got a Mad Max film.

Related: Local Motors’ 3D-printed electric off-roader becomes reality

Powering the A/T is a tuned v6. This may be slightly disappointing to those who wanted to see the Hellcat’s earth-shattering supercharged V8 under the hood, but given the fact that this car drives on sand, it actually makes a lot of sense. Ruiter told Autoblog that he “wanted the passion given to the Hellcat to be pushed into more areas.”

Looking at the Untamed Concept, it’s hard not to think of the Rally Fighter, another off-roader wearing muscle car clothes. The Rally Fighter is made by Local Motors, and mates a Chevy Camaro body to a high travel tube chassis. The car was uniquely crowd-sourced, meaning that potential buyers could vote to see their favorite designs come to life.

Local Motors uses a distinct, refined production process that involves 3D printing, micro-manufacturing, and co-creation, but, like Ruiter’s concept, the result is uniquely elemental at heart.

Ruiter also makes designer furniture, which you can see on his website. It may not get a motorhead’s blood boiling like a big V8, but hey, it’s nice furniture.

(Photos via J.Ruiter)

Andrew Hard
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Andrew first started writing in middle school and hasn't put the pen down since. Whether it's technology, music, sports, or…
Mini’s infotainment system is very charming, but still needs work
Main screen of the Mini infotainment system

When you think Mini, you probably don’t think of infotainment. Personally, I think of the British flag taillights, the distinct exterior, and the surprising room on the inside. But after driving the Mini John Cooper Works Countryman over the past week, infotainment might well be something I think of more often when it comes to Mini. It’s charming.

It also, however, suffers from all the traps that other legacy automakers fall into when it comes to software design. Mini has something on its hands here — but it still needs some work.
Bringing the charm
The first thing that stood out to me about the system when I got in the car was how fun it was. That all starts with the display. It’s round! No, it’s not curved — the screen is a big, round display sits in at 9.4 inches, and I found it plenty large enough for day-to-day use.

Read more
Plug-in hybrids are becoming more popular. Why? And will it continue?
Kia Niro EV Charging Port

There's a lot of talk about the idea that the growth in electric car sales has kind of slowed a little. It's not all that surprising -- EVs are still expensive, early adopters all have one by now, and they're still new enough to where there aren't too many ultra-affordable used EVs available. But plenty of people still want a greener vehicle, and that has given rise to an explosion in hybrid vehicle sales.

That's especially true of plug-in hybrid vehicles, which can be charged like an EV and driven in all-electric mode for short distances, and have a gas engine as a backup for longer distances or to be used in combination with electric mode for more efficient driving.

Read more
EV drivers are not going back to gas cars, global survey says
ev drivers are not going back to gas cars global survey says screenshot

Nearly all current owners of electric vehicles (EVs) are either satisfied or very satisfied with the experience, and 92% of them plan to buy another EV, according to a survey by the Global EV Drivers Alliance.

The survey of 23,000 EV drivers worldwide found that only 1% would return to a petrol or diesel car, while 4% would opt for a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) if they had to replace their car.

Read more