Chrysler PT Cruiser Gains Supercharged V8, Runs Wheels-Up Quarter Mile

You don't see many modern Chryslers at the drag strip nowadays, but someone went to great lengths to turn a 2000 PT Cruiser into a 11-second slingshot. This panel van was stripped off its original small-displacement, four-cylinder engine, replaced with a massive 7.2-liter V8. And it's not just a modern crate engine, but a Mopar unit from 1969. The engine that the PT Cruiser deserved all along.

There's no info as to how powerful the blown V8 is, but it's potent enough to send the PT Cruiser down the quarter mile in as low as 11.09 seconds, to go with a trap speed of 115 mph. It's also powerful enough to launch the compact front wheels up. Definitely impressive given that PT Cruisers usually tipped the scales at more than 3,200 pounds (1,451 kg).

And make sure you get a good look at the rear wheels. The turbine-design rims look a lot like the rear wheels of the iconic Porsche 935. I bet it's something you did not expect to see on a PT Cruiser.

As a brief reminder, the PT Cruiser was originally introduced for the 2001 model year and remained in production until 2010. It was offered with four different gasoline four-cylinder engines and, in certain markets, with a diesel four-banger.

The PT Cruiser GT was the quickest iteration of the nameplate. Fitted with a turbocharged four-cylinder, it came with 230 horsepower and 245 pound-feet (332 Nm) of torque on tap. It was Chrysler's take on the hot-hatch market.

Needless to say, the stock PT Cruiser was far from being a quarter-mile rocket, but this V8-powered panel van is here to do some justice to the retro-styled compact. Check it out in the video below.