“This is a purpose-built vehicle with collaborative parts from Magneti Marelli and Mopar,” said Dino Maggioni, CEO of Magneti Marelli Aftermarket. “We selected Magneti Marelli and Mopar parts, adapted them to the Dodge Avenger and made them unique. The result is a fascinating blend of these two iconic brands.”Mopar and Magneti Marelli engineers started out with a stock 2011 Dodge Avenger that was stripped down to the bone and fitted with a 3.6-liter V6 enhanced with a cold-air intake to boost horsepower from 283 bhp to 300 bhp. The removal of various features resulted in 200-pound weight reduction.
The engineers added a high-performance Mopar/Magneti Marelli braking system that allows the driver to actuate both rear brakes along with a Mopar/Magneti Marelli-modified suspension that drops the ride height by 1.5 inches. The rally-prepped Avenger rides on unique Mopar/Magneti Marelli 18-inch alloy racing wheels wrapped in Pirelli rubber. The car’s exterior is finished in Brilliant Black and features a Mopar/Magneti Marelli graphics wrap with a rear spoiler, hood and mud flaps
The stripped out interior features a full 8-point Mopar roll cage, race seats with 5-point racing harnesses, steering wheel and diamond-plate foot well from OMP. There’s also a purpose-built center stack and console with a compact high-performance 1 GB data logger and an integrated GPS and inertial platform with real-time calculation of pitch and roll angles.
According to Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group’s service, parts and customer-care brand, some components of the build may be offered in the firm’s accessories catalog in the near future. “We will gauge reaction to this vehicle and determine which parts will go into production,” said Gorlier.
