Photo: Abimelec Design / Facebook
If there are a couple of American cars that are just as easy to recognize around the world as, let’s say, Superman, it must be the aero twins. The ‘69 Charger Daytona and ‘70 Plymouth Superbird have quirky traits, legendary performance, and huge (modern) desirability.
These crazy contraptions were born for NASCAR and they’re easily some of the most recognizable classic cars out there. But we really didn’t know the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona also had D1GP aspirations. Perhaps because when it was born, the Daytona was decades away from the 2001 moment of establishing the D1 Grand Prix production car drifting series in Japan. So, the numbers don’t add up.
They don’t have to because everything is a figment of a virtual artist’s imagination. Abimelec Arellano, the pixel master behind the abimelecdesign social media account has probably decided to attract the wrath of both classic American muscle car enthusiasts and the drift loving JDM fan community. Perhaps those long explanations in the description might appease the spirits. Or perhaps not.
After all, we are dealing with a legendary U.S.-born muscle car that was supposed to win everything in the quintessential American racing series. And the virtual artist went “for a bit of controversy” by splashing a crazy color (though we agree with his assessment, Mopar is no stranger to that), an exuberant aero kit, a bunch of decals, and chrome vinyl to make sure everyone gets the JDM references. As well as an (in)famous engine swap.
Of course, it’s the “myth, the legend,” the Toyota 3.0-liter turbo 2JZ mill. What, without this last sacrilege the project would not have come full circle, right? Yet, somehow, even considering the childish atmosphere, this “hard to digest” idea somehow works. For the rest of the (detractor) world, remember that it’s the “sleepy” headlights that point out that although it’s a sad Daytona day from the muscle car standpoint, at least “no real Daytonas were hurt in the making of this.”
They don’t have to because everything is a figment of a virtual artist’s imagination. Abimelec Arellano, the pixel master behind the abimelecdesign social media account has probably decided to attract the wrath of both classic American muscle car enthusiasts and the drift loving JDM fan community. Perhaps those long explanations in the description might appease the spirits. Or perhaps not.
After all, we are dealing with a legendary U.S.-born muscle car that was supposed to win everything in the quintessential American racing series. And the virtual artist went “for a bit of controversy” by splashing a crazy color (though we agree with his assessment, Mopar is no stranger to that), an exuberant aero kit, a bunch of decals, and chrome vinyl to make sure everyone gets the JDM references. As well as an (in)famous engine swap.
Of course, it’s the “myth, the legend,” the Toyota 3.0-liter turbo 2JZ mill. What, without this last sacrilege the project would not have come full circle, right? Yet, somehow, even considering the childish atmosphere, this “hard to digest” idea somehow works. For the rest of the (detractor) world, remember that it’s the “sleepy” headlights that point out that although it’s a sad Daytona day from the muscle car standpoint, at least “no real Daytonas were hurt in the making of this.”
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