Muscle for Hire

American muscle cars are just as popular on this side of the pond as they are in their homeland, though this ‘72 Dodge Challenger proves that actually building one in Europe is harder than it might seem!

- Jarkle

The modern world and the technology which underpins it means that, for many of us with an all encompassing love for all things with four wheels hailing from the US of A, it’s easier than ever to scratch our Americana-itch. From films to Facebook groups, forums to Youtube shows, the automotive world really does echo to the sound of fully-fat American veeeights. The Teutuls, Boyd Coddington, Chip Foose, Richard Rawlings and even Ryan Friedlinghaus, these are all household names to those petrolheads with a passion for yankee metal, and many have opted to take their passion a few stages further, by building replicas of their hero’s automotive creations.

The ‘72 Dodge Challenger you see here is a good example of this in action. Built by the guys at Krazy Kutters Speed Shop, the Challenger was created as a homage to a similar car built by Chip Foose and his crew, and the original car wound up being the star of the 2006 SEMA show and got a 6.4l Hemi along the way. It was a stunner and has gone down as one of the stars of Overhaulin,’ so perhaps it shouldn’t be all that surprising that it’s since inspired a similar build on this side of the pond.

It would be a massive understatement to say that the chaps at Krazy Kutters know a lot about American cars. They’ve built and still own all kinds of classics from the US, including a 1930s hot rod, a Chevy Impala low-rider, a track racer inspired Trans Am, and many muscle cars, so it’s fair to say these central Europeans are well and truly living the American Dream.

The owners of the workshop are Balázs and Ádám, and they took to the challenge with gusto, starting by making contact with their car dealer partner in Miami Beach. They were able to turn up the ‘72 Dodge (the same year as the one in the TV show) you see here, a lime green car with a 440ci big block and a handy 360bhp.