Richard Petty: Ex-Driver, Current Car Tuner
Petty Enterprises moved out of it’s Level Cross, NC, shops a few years ago in a move to Mooresville, NC, that was supposed to help the NASCAR Sprint Cup racing organization be more competitive. The team has since merged with Gillette/Evernham Motorsports and again with Yates Racing and besides the number 43, there’s really not much left of the old Petty Enterprises.
But the Level Cross shops have been busy, and they’ve just released the fruits of their labor for the public to see. Now known as Petty’s Garage, the Petty Shops are building custom Dodge Challengers for public consumption. Only 43 will be built per year (get it?), and currently, plans are to build the car for approximately five years before moving on to something else. All the Dodge’s are black-on-black, just like practically all of The King’s personal rides, and have been dramatically upfitted.
Improvements include engine work to increase the output to 600 peak horsepower with 550 lb/ft of torque, thanks to a supercharger. There are also anti-rollbars, custom coilovers and Brembo brakes to improve the suspension. Prices are expected to be in the $70,000 range.
And why, you’re thinking, aren’t any available in the famous Petty Blue? Here’s Richard himself with the answer: “For folks that really know me this will not come as much of a surprise, but the car will be black. A lot of folks instinctively guess that the car will be Petty Blue and while that is a very special color, all of my personal street cars are black. And I mean black! The interior, exterior, wheels, everything is black,” added Petty. “It needs just enough polished accents to set it off, so when you drive it down the road it looks different than any other Challenger on the road, but not so much that it draws unwanted attention.”
You can check out the Petty’s Garage website here.
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