Challenger SRT Hellcat

Make
Dodge
Segment
Coupe

Your eyes do not deceive you. This is indeed a convertible Challenger Hellcat. It was a custom job commissioned by John Iverson. Iverson is the owner of Iverson Customs and the Iverson Chrysler Center dealership located in Mitchell, South Dakota. Iverson was inspired to create the convertible Challenger Hellcat by his 1971 Barracuda Convertible, which is on display in the showroom of his dealership. But creating such a wild custom car wasn't just as simple as chopping the top off and calling it a day.

Iverson actually met with Ralph Gilles, former SRT boss and now the head of design for FCA. Gilles signed off on the project (both literally and figuratively) and thus the first convertible Challenger Hellcat was born. DropTop Customs helped make this dream a reality, and the result is simply stunning. This car is a throwback to a simpler time when V8 engines were the norm rather than the exception. It's a reminder that American convertibles didn't always feature useless back seats. Oh, and it's still plenty fast thanks to that supercharged HEMI V8 that sits under the hood. It's obviously lost some of its straight-line speed thanks to the addition of the soft top (and its added weight), but that 707-horsepower engine still has to be plenty fast.

Now this is where it gets tricky. Despite going to great lengths to create the world's first convertible Challenger Hellcat the car is now up for sale at Iverson Chrysler. Its asking price is $139,000, which is just a wee bit (a lot bit) over what the hardtop version sells for. It only has 555 miles on the odometer so it doesn't seem like Iverson got much use out of it. We'll stop short of speculating that Iverson is trying to make a quick buck as he busted his ass to get this thing built. Also, the fact that this thing is up for sale means someone else gets the chance to enjoy a Challenger convertible that could very well eat the new Camaro ZL1 Convertible for lunch. Please, please someone get these two cars together for a drag race.

So what's it like to drive this car? See so for yourself in the video here. And suddenly winter in South Dakota doesn't look so bad.