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Dom's Charger Gets Mid-Engine Hellcat V8 Swap for Fast & Furious 9

Since the humble beginnings of the Fast & Furious, the saga has treated us to modified cars ranging from ricers to boosted Supras, a rubber-tracked Ram pickup, and blown Chargers. Speaking of the hero car, Dom’s legendary Charger is getting a pretty wild makeover for the ninth movie.
Dom's mid-engine Dodge Charger from Fast & Furious 9 10 photos
Photo: Boosted Swaps on YouTube
Dom's mid-engine Dodge Charger from Fast & Furious 9Dom's mid-engine Dodge Charger from Fast & Furious 9Dom's mid-engine Dodge Charger from Fast & Furious 9Dom's mid-engine Dodge Charger from Fast & Furious 9Dom's mid-engine Dodge Charger from Fast & Furious 9Dom's mid-engine Dodge Charger from Fast & Furious 9Dom's mid-engine Dodge Charger from Fast & Furious 9Dom's mid-engine Dodge Charger from Fast & Furious 9Dom's mid-engine Dodge Charger from Fast & Furious 9
As the headline implies, a mid-engine makeover helps the strip-slaying Mopar machine stand out from its predecessors. Flanked by four electromagnets that can hurl away SUVs whenever Dominic Toretto feels like it, the eight-cylinder powerplant looks familiar to the Hellcat.

Teased by Universal Pictures and confirmed by cinematographer Johnny North and YouTube channel Boosted Swaps, the mid-engine Dodge Charger also features bronze wheels and a bronze decal on its tail. Rotating grille covers for the headlights are present as well, along with an aluminum radiator that you can see through the front bumper’s cutout.

In other words, the people who built Dom’s Charger may have placed a model of the Hellcat motor in the middle of the car. A mid-engine conversion based on the muscle car's factory chassis would need a lot of money, which is why I suspect that we are looking at a fake conversion.

If the Hellcat supercharged V8 were real, the film’s producers would have paid $15,000 for a crate engine without the FEAD Basics Kit (accessory drive) and Hellcat Engine Kit required for installation on pre-1976 vehicles. We also have to remember that Mopar’s 6.2-liter HEMI was specifically developed for a six-speed manual and an eight-speed automatic that drive the rear axle with the help of a driveshaft and a beefed-up differential.

In addition to the mid-engined Charger, the latest installment in the saga includes a Supra fielded by Han and Mia. A jet-powered Pontiac Fiero, a Noble M600 supercar, and a Ford Mustang driven by John Cena (he plays Dom’s younger brother Jakob Toretto) are also featured.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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