Photo: Crossover Car Conversions
The automotive industry of Australia, as I’m sure you know, is in a bit of a pinch. Holden and Ford announced that local production of rear-wheel-drive sedans is slated for production closedown in the nearest of futures, leaving many talented people unemployed and a big void in the new car market of The Oz. On second thought, all is not lost.
Once the Ford Falcon FG X kicks the bucket, the right-hand drive Mondeo and Mustang will take over from there. As for Holden, the truth is that there’s no direct or indirect replacement for the Caprice and Commodore. The best GM has to offer as a successor to these two large sedans is the soon-to-debut 2018 Holden Insignia, which happens to be front-wheel-drive by nature and mid-sized by stature.
On the upside, there’s a company in the Land Down Under that can convert American cars to right-hand drive. For a price, that is. From the thirteenth-gen Ford F-150 pickup truck to the first-gen Dodge Viper supercar, the peeps at Crossover Car Conversions in Melbourne can do them all. CCC’s highlight, however, is its conversion program for the most X-rated muscle car of them all - the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.
As you can see in the featured photograph and the gallery below, it takes quite a bit of elbow grease to change from left- to right-hand drive. “We refer to our process as 'mirror image,' hence transferring all the components over to replicate the original engineering and design when the vehicle was first built. In some areas this is not possible, but we adopt a safe approach to redesign when needed,” the company explains.
Upon closer inspection, the only thing to remain in its original form is the automatic transmission’s gear lever. Having the thumb knob on the left is a bit of a faff in a right-hand driver car, to be utterly honest.
Other than the dash, console, and firewall, CCC also swaps the original steering rack of the SRT Hellcat with a unit sourced from a Chrysler 300 SRT. The exhaust also comes from the Australia-spec Chrysler 300 SRT because the Hellcat’s original exhaust is too loud according to the Australian Design Rules (ADR).
The price of it all, including the car? That’ll be around AUD 190,000 or $142,590 at current exchange rates.
On the upside, there’s a company in the Land Down Under that can convert American cars to right-hand drive. For a price, that is. From the thirteenth-gen Ford F-150 pickup truck to the first-gen Dodge Viper supercar, the peeps at Crossover Car Conversions in Melbourne can do them all. CCC’s highlight, however, is its conversion program for the most X-rated muscle car of them all - the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.
As you can see in the featured photograph and the gallery below, it takes quite a bit of elbow grease to change from left- to right-hand drive. “We refer to our process as 'mirror image,' hence transferring all the components over to replicate the original engineering and design when the vehicle was first built. In some areas this is not possible, but we adopt a safe approach to redesign when needed,” the company explains.
Upon closer inspection, the only thing to remain in its original form is the automatic transmission’s gear lever. Having the thumb knob on the left is a bit of a faff in a right-hand driver car, to be utterly honest.
Other than the dash, console, and firewall, CCC also swaps the original steering rack of the SRT Hellcat with a unit sourced from a Chrysler 300 SRT. The exhaust also comes from the Australia-spec Chrysler 300 SRT because the Hellcat’s original exhaust is too loud according to the Australian Design Rules (ADR).
The price of it all, including the car? That’ll be around AUD 190,000 or $142,590 at current exchange rates.
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