'The cars are race-prepared, not race-ready,' notes Kipp Owen, director of Street and Race Technology engineering.

At least 100 of the Drag Package Challengers will be built at the same Brampton, Ont., assembly plant where all Challengers are produced. But the Drag Package cars will come without such things as sound-deadening body sealing. They will lack windshield wiper equipment, heat, ventilation and air conditioning systems, airbags, rear seats, power steering, exhaust systems, side-impact door beams, rear bumper beams and other components not needed for quarter-mile drag racing. These changes, plus the use of special lightweight components such as polycarbonate door windows and a composite 'lift-off' hood, reduce the car's curb weight by about 1,000 pounds.

Buyers can select from three engines and manual or automatic transmissions. The engines, all specially built, high-performance 'crate' motors, include 5.7- or 6.1-liter Hemis or 5.9-liter Magnum Wedge.

The cars are also equipped with Viper-style front seats, lightweight engine cooling fan, manual rack-and-pinion steering, and cable-operated throttle linkage and pedal assembly.

They are delivered with the rear differential from the base V6 Challenger, and with a build-book designed to help owners install roll cages and other equipment and to select the correct rear differential needed to deal the demands of their category of competition.

The Challenger Drag Package rides on a wheelbase shortened by a half-inch to enhance the driveline angle for maximum power delivery. It also gets an engine cradle with bolt-in crossmember and solid mounts.

The Drag Package Challenger will be priced in the low-to-mid $30,000 range, which puts it between the Challenger R/T and SRT8 road cars.