Photo: Smyth Performance
Not Ford, not General Motors, nor Chrysler have a car-based pickup on sale these days. Colloquially called “ute” in The Oz as an abbreviation for utility, passenger vehicles converted to handle workhorse drudgery are an increasingly dying species.
Some people, yours truly included, bemoan this trend, but all is not lost for us lot. Local Motors and Factory Five Racing mastermind Mark Smith has a company that’s specialized in ute-ifing the Volkswagen Jetta. This sort of conversion kit is priced at just $2,990, instructions included. But if you want a more exciting conversion in your life, why not start with a Dodge Charger?
Retailing at $3,590 in the form of a refundable order, Smyth Performance’s take on the Dodge Charger is exactly what you’d imagine from a full-size sedan with utility credentials. The pictured vehicle is the first finished conversion, and it’s based on a 2006 Charger R/T with the 5.7-liter V8.
In its least exciting tune, the naturally aspirated HEMI mill develops 340 horsepower and 390 lb-ft, figures that are good enough even by today’s standards. Smyth Performance’s Charger Ute conversion should apply to the Charger SRT Hellcat and Charger AWD variants as well, albeit the Wareham, Massachusetts-based company has yet to confirm if that’s actually the case.
“The tough part was picking the taillights,” reads the description for the conversion kit, with Smyth Performance taking the decision that modified Grand Caravan clusters would do the trick just fine. The rear glass, meanwhile, has been sourced from a “GM Colorado truck.” As for the rear quarter windows, those are similar to the ones used in the Jetta Ute.
As we wait for FCA to revive the Dakota and to launch the Wrangler Pickup, Smyth Performance’s Charger Ute might be just what the doctor ordered.
Retailing at $3,590 in the form of a refundable order, Smyth Performance’s take on the Dodge Charger is exactly what you’d imagine from a full-size sedan with utility credentials. The pictured vehicle is the first finished conversion, and it’s based on a 2006 Charger R/T with the 5.7-liter V8.
In its least exciting tune, the naturally aspirated HEMI mill develops 340 horsepower and 390 lb-ft, figures that are good enough even by today’s standards. Smyth Performance’s Charger Ute conversion should apply to the Charger SRT Hellcat and Charger AWD variants as well, albeit the Wareham, Massachusetts-based company has yet to confirm if that’s actually the case.
“The tough part was picking the taillights,” reads the description for the conversion kit, with Smyth Performance taking the decision that modified Grand Caravan clusters would do the trick just fine. The rear glass, meanwhile, has been sourced from a “GM Colorado truck.” As for the rear quarter windows, those are similar to the ones used in the Jetta Ute.
As we wait for FCA to revive the Dakota and to launch the Wrangler Pickup, Smyth Performance’s Charger Ute might be just what the doctor ordered.
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