Elite Auto Rental Blog

With gas prices near four dollars a gallon, consumers are looking for ways to drive their vehicles without having to get a mortgage to pay for gas. That’s where Electric Vehicles of America comes in. The company sells parts so that people can convert their standard gasoline engines to run on electricity.

“I believe strongly in the free market’s ability to find solutions to the rising cost of fuel. I suspect the folks at Electric Vehicles of America have positioned themselves very well to tap into what is clearly a concern with the driving public,” says Ron Sturgeon, owner of a Dallas exotic car rental company.

Bob Batson, who formed Electric Vehicles of America, told CNN that business has been good as consumers search for alternatives to gas engines.

“Sales trends are definitely up as the price of gasoline goes up,” he said.

Larry Horsley, who owns a metal roofing business in Georgia, told CNN that he gets a lot of use out his conversion kit. Horsley converted his Chevy truck to run on 20 six-volt batteries, similar to those used to power golf carts. His truck is capable of traveling 40 miles between charges and can go up to 60 miles per hour.

“Anyone who has basic mechanical skills can build one of these,” he said.

The conversion kit and the truck itself cost Horsley about $12,000 and took about three months to complete. He said that most of that time was spent waiting for parts.

Horsley told CNN that he estimates he has saved $700 on gas, oil, and filters in 4 months by driving his electric truck.

“The other interesting aspect of electric vehicles is their capacity to accelerate much faster than gasoline powered vehicles. At our Dallas sports car rental company, we are anticipating some electric sports cars that should provide our clients with thrilling driving experiences,” says business consultant Ron Sturgeon, who also owns an exotic car club and a business that provides automotive dream tours.

“Electric cars or electric gas hybrids are a great solution to lower commuting costs,” says Sturgeon, “but I’m also looking forward to seeing some electric cars that are fun to drive from the people at Tesla Motors and other car makers.”

(Images courtesy of Tesla Motors Media Library.)

Kate Miller-Wilson is a freelance writer living in the Twin Cities. Visit her website or email her for information about her freelance writing services

by Myles Kornblatt
Filed under: | coupe | Supercars / Exotic cars | fuel

Are you an environmentalist buy don’t like looking like one? Do you think that if you drive a Prius, you will be dismissed as a hippy? Well English carmaker Trident may finally have a solution. Trident has been trying to get its Iceni sports car on the road for almost a decade now, and the last time it made news at TopSpeed was two years ago. So, it sounds like the project may be dead in the water, right? In a statement today, Trident says that the new Iceni is about to go into production, and this time its gone green.

The Iceni uses a 550 hp 6.6-liter V8 to propel 3256 lbs. The catch here is the engine is a turbo diesel, which can be run on biodiesel without conversion or harming the warranty. Trident’s green mind is also adding “torque multiplication” technology in the car. It claims that with this new system, the Iceni can achieve 68.9 mpg when driving at a constant 70 mph in track tests and 108 mpg at 30 mph. Trident also promises more than 200 mph top speed and 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds, in a car that costs £75,000 (about $140,000, but there has not yet been announced plans for the U.S.)

Does all this sound too good to be true? Absolutely. Trident is still looking for investors. But this may finally be the right time for a fuel efficient supercar. Besides, Trident has stuck around so long it deserves a chance to get the Iceni on the road. Now all they have to do is start making driving gloves out of hemp

When people visit Dallas, they often are interested in exploring the assassination of JFK or the mystique surrounding the TV show “Dallas.” The city has dozens of museums dedicated to these and other fascinating subjects, as well as great opportunities for tourists to drive their dream cars.

• The Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas is dedicated to the life and death of JFK and is located in the famed Texas School Book Depository building. Considered one of the best museums associated with Kennedy’s assassination, the Sixth Floor Museum features a corner exhibit overlooking the grassy knoll, the same view that Lee Harvey Oswald may have had on the day that JFK was killed.



• The Dallas Museum of Nature & Science is one of the oldest science museums in the country and features great exhibits, an IMAX, and a planetarium. The Eyes on Earth exhibit offers a rare glimpse of the sights seen by the many man-made satellites orbiting our planet.
• Featuring thousands of automotive history-related toys and memorabilia, the DFW Elite Toy Museum is a great place to spend an afternoon. The museum was founded by Ron Sturgeon, owner of a Dallas exotic car rental company and an exotic car club, and it has some fascinating exhibits, including rare German driving school models and a unique scale model of the Batmobile.
• The Dallas Museum of Art is another great Dallas area attraction. The museum collection includes masterpieces by many of the great American artists, as well as European and impressionist works, non-Western art, and special temporary exhibits. Some of the artists featured at the museum include Georgia O’Keefe, Andrew Wyeth, and Jackson Pollock.

Besides fun museums, Dallas is also a great place to rent an exotic car. With sunny skies most of the year, convertible rentals are a popular vacation activity. The perfect weekend in Dallas includes renting a Dodge Viper or Bentley Continental and going from museum to museum seeing the amazing sights.

If you’re traveling with the whole family and need a backseat, why not try out a luxury car rental like the Mercedes S550 or Hummer H2? There is an luxury car rental option to meet the needs of any Dallas tourist, and there is a museum to meet those needs too.

Kate Miller-Wilson is a freelance writer living in the Twin Cities. Visit her website or email her for information about her freelance writing services

MILFORD, Mich. — Even before the tires had cooled on what is the fastest, most powerful Corvette ever to hit the streets of America—we’re talking about the 2009 Corvette ZR1 of course—we couldn’t help but wonder: How in the world are they going to top this?

“We can’t comment on future product,” came the usual, deadpanned reply from the engineers on hand here at the test track. But we have other sources. And we tapped them to find out if there was any truth to the mid-engine rumors, if certain powertrains had been locked in this far ahead of schedule and exactly what design direction the next Vette might take.

So here’s our best guess for what General Motors has in store for the C7 Corvette. But keep in mind that a lot can happen between now and 2012, when this car is set to debut. Thanks to high fuel prices, the auto industry has changed more in the past two years than it has in the past decade. So don’t be surprised if what you read here differs from the fiberglass, steel and aluminum reality of the future.

The Architecture

One thing we know with certainty is that the mid-engine Corvette—the one that pops up as a production possibility every decade or so—remains just a wistful idea. “The mid-engine Corvette is simply too expensive,” says auto analyst Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics. “It would need costly new tooling and offers little weight savings because it requires an extra, metal-intensive firewall.”

The Corvette rides a fine line between price and demand. The median Corvette price hovers in the low-$50,000 range, and the Chevy folks say that a fair number of buyers stretch, financially, to own one. Chevy currently moves about 30,000 Vettes every year, which—combined with a few thousand Cadillac XLRs (it uses the Corvette platform)—keeps the Bowling Green, Ky., factory humming along efficiently at the plant’s designed output. The current production levels earn GM a tidy profit, too. Raise the price and demand will fall, resulting in costly plant downtime that could very well erode one of GM’s moneymakers.

So the mid-engine design is out, and that means the next Corvette will retain the front-engine, rear-transmission layout of the current car. That architecture dictates that the dimensions—wheelbase, length and width—won’t change dramatically, although the size will probably shrink slightly. But part of the Corvette’s appeal is its roominess and generous cargo space, and those attributes are likely to remain.

The Drivetrain

But what exactly will ride in that engine bay up front? It’s nearly impossible to imagine a Corvette without a V8, but some interesting options are on the table. A diesel engine has been suggested—the new 4.5-liter diesel V8—but we think that is unlikely. “I would say that a twin-turbo V6 is a very strong possibility,” says Paul Lacy of Global Insight. A twin-turbo version of the direct-injection 3.6-liter DOHC V6 that’s currently in the Cadillac CTS could easily pump out 400 hp—just 36 shy of today’s V8.

While there may be a V6 as the base engine, a pushrod V8 will certainly be a part of the plan. Still, we’d guess that displacement will fall from today’s mammoth 6.2-liter and 7.0-liter engine sizes, to between 5.0- and 5.7-liter. Turbocharging and variable valve timing are distinct possibilities to make those smaller V8s really move. It’s still too early to know exactly what the powertrain lineup will look like, but expect three levels of performance similar to today’s—base, Z06 and ZR1. Yes, we have heard that the ZR1 could live on in the C7.

The Fuel Efficiency

The drive to smaller, turbocharged engines is a response to expected higher fuel prices—not to mention the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that mandates a fleet, fuel-economy average of 35 mpg by 2020. (Shorter-term regulations are still under debate). Since the Corvette accounts for only 2 percent of GM’s car fleet—and therefore doesn’t have a huge impact on the company’s fleet-wide average—the swift sports car won’t be required to hit lofty fuel-economy targets. Still, fuel efficiency will certainly improve to satisfy customer demand, and to avoid the stiffer gas-guzzler taxes that many think are on the horizon. Remember, price is critical to the success of the Corvette, and GM brass will want to avoid fuel-use surcharges—however expensive they may be.

Development money is tight at GM. We’ve heard the majority of research funds have been channeled to future hybrid programs, and, of course, completing the costly Volt plug-in range extended hybrid and it’s E-Flex chassis counterparts. So there’s not enough money to develop the dual-clutch automated transmission that the Corvette really needs. A twin-clutch gearbox with seven gears would allow a wide ratio spread to help save fuel and replace two transmissions—the automatic and manual—with one. But the cost to engineer and produce a new transmission is expensive—over a half a billion dollars. And the resulting unit would only be suitable for the Corvette. So it’s out—for now.

The Light Weight

As one might imagine, lighter-weight materials will play a role in increasing the Corvette’s fuel economy. While the current car is already quite light—the Corvette Z06 weighs just 3200 pounds, hundreds less than the Dodge Viper and Porsche 911—we expect the next car to trim even more weight.

“Carbon fiber and aluminum have been something of a drug for the Corvette crew,” says Hall. And those lightweight materials, he surmises, will be tapped to a larger degree with the next car. One possibility is to ditch the steel frame that’s currently used by the base and convertible Corvettes and exclusively employ the aluminum frame of the Z06 and ZR1. That move alone would save 136 pounds. “The real trick will be finding ways to make the car lighter without passing too much cost on to customers,” Hall insists. “Sure, they could substitute carbon-fiber body panels for fiberglass, but carbon fiber is multiples of 10 more expensive. The majority of the development dollars are going into finding cost-effective ways to make it lighter.”

The Design

Take comfort that the next Vette will be styled by the same talented team that’s penned such recent stunners as the Cadillac CTS, the Pontiac Solstice Coupe and the Chevy Camaro. Expect the next 2012 Corvette to have even more swagger and attitude and to possibly use elements from the recently seen (but horrendously named) Corvette Centennial Design Concept. Retractable headlights—long a Corvette trademark—will not be making a return; European pedestrian-impact standards have effectively killed that design element. But the next headlights will be better integrated, and LEDs will probably be part of that program.

The Bottom Line

The C7 Corvette won’t be the mid-engine answer to the Ford GT. And its performance probably won’t substantially eclipse the current car. But with lighter-weight and similar horsepower outputs, the C7 is sure to be an all-around tasty recipe. The Corvette is one of the best sports-car bargains on the road today. So with another four years of development time, it can only get more refined, more stylish and more fuel-efficient, too. We’re already salivating.

MOTORSPORTS EDITOR MAC MORRISON: I’m pretty much out of superlatives when it comes to the 911. I have been fortunate enough to drive some of the greatest cars in the world–from BMW M cars to Mercedes-Benz AMG offerings to Corvette Z06s to Lamborghinis and Lotuses and more–and Porsche’s staple remains my favorite. No matter how gloomy my mood, this car makes it all better.

The styling is timeless, but that’s really secondary. Everything else works so well together that the overall product is mesmerizing. The car has plenty of power but not so much as to make you feel as though you can’t exploit it unless you are on a racetrack. The steering is absolute magic, the brakes perhaps even more impressive, the grip and balance an ideal every carmaker should shoot for. And it all feels so perfect–the steering effort and feedback, the shifter action, the pedal feel. There is even an element of practicality, with the small back seats and surprisingly useful underhood storage compartment. It’s hardly a family sedan, of course, but two people can haul an impressive amount of stuff, whether it’s groceries or luggage.

If you look for faults, you can pick out a few, but they are irrelevant to the driving experience. The switchgear and some interior materials are underwhelming, but the cockpit is well designed and looks sharp. And if you really need a more up-scale environment, Porsche offers plenty of optional trim packages.

Of course, the price for such upgrades is high, as is the base sticker. Certainly, you can equal or even better a 911’s numbers with cars costing far less. But none of them offers the same combination of performance, feel, comfort, style and usability. Not in my book, anyway.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR WES RAYNAL: In response to Morrison, the only car I can think of that comes close is Porsche’s own Cayman. Other than that, no. From the timeless shape to the engine to the steering to the brakes, this is simply the best, most complete driving experience on the road, and no other car offers such . . . Porscheness.

Sensational.

P.S. I will dispatch Morrison to beat on anyone who dares mention a Corvette as some type of worthy opponent to this 911.

SENIOR EDITOR KEVIN A. WILSON: Is that a dare? A double-dog dare?

Just because the 911 is the world’s best sports car–and I spent my 75 miles of bliss in this one thinking that if I had the jingle, it would be winging its way to Stuttgart faster than any Lufthansa flight–doesn’t mean it’s the only alternative or that it can’t be compared and contrasted.

I hate an uncritical love fest, however well earned. Isn’t the worst thing about owning a Porsche that bystanders assume you’re one of those guys, with the gold chain snarled in chest hair and the trophy wife, the guy who heads to the nearest hose to wash a few gnats off his precious car at a track day while the Lotus guys are thrashing theirs for just one more lap? I know from experience that those guys aren’t even close to the majority of 911 owners, but they’re surely the most obvious, aren’t they?

I’m a contrarian by nature, so I’ll say it again: Corvette. And Ferrari F430. And Lambo Gallardo. And Acura NSX (yeah, I know, you can’t get one new anymore). And Nissan GT-R. You should consider owning all of those-right after you drive a 911, so you know what you’re talking about when it’s time to make excuses for why you didn’t make the obvious choice.

What makes the 911 such a great aspirational vehicle is that it’s so good–and always just out of reach of the guys who buy a Corvette. Which brings me to my last point: You could get a Cayman. If you’re really so hard-core about driving, you will get a Cayman and stay on the track that extra lap with the Lotus guys.

As one who has sung the 911’s praises for ages, I’ll add this: I liked it better before the electronics era. This one’s faster and tons safer, but any imbecile with $100,000 can drive it fast. The earlier ones were more engaging, more challenging, more tactile and visceral . . . kind of like Caymans, come to think of it.

Come and have a peek on the new generation Corvette or The Sixth Generation of it’s kind.Existing Corvette is a 2-door, 2-goer sports car, or convertible sports car, close by in 10 trims, ranging from the Coupe LT1 to the Z06 LZ3.The immediate base engine for the 2008 Corvette is the LS3 V8.The company says that the prevalent Corvette is riding at anchor in the extreme drivable in day-to-day commutes thanks to Leading-Intensity Discharge lighting, fog lamps, leather seating, dual-zone air conditioning, cabin air filtration and head-upturn display (HUD) with track mode and g-meter (all standard).In flare to the Corvette Coupe and Z06, the 2008 Corvette is besides disengaged as a convertible.2008 Chevrolet Corvette with empty formality that rivals $200,000 exotics, the up-to-the-minute Corvette is — at wedded-fourth to guy-third the cost — the buy of a lifetime for distinguished sports car enthusiasts.

2008 Corvette:

When a premium-philharmonic car boasts so much capacity, it is governing that the handling match its capabilities, and that’s what the yet again Corvette does clobber.There are too a host of exterior and interior refinements that grow the Chevy Corvette happiness status and enhance the feeling of craftsmanship.The changes involve all from an all-new-fashioned, larger and then nervous V-8 engine to refinements in driving characteristics that solidify the Corvettes position as the duly constituted American sports car and further the argument that it is identical of the worlds outstrip.

The current Chevrolet Corvette has to be the maximum troubling car to have narrow the gap off the General Motors production lines in the companys rota and the 2008 example is all set to make a commanding entrance at the 9th Middle East International Motor Show.The LS3 with the six-speed paddle-shift automatic is the fastest automatic-equipped prevalent Corvette ever, with 0-60 mph capability of 4 seconds.As a sprout from, the standard Corvette is true super car, equal to of 190 mph.

And back again for 08 is the 505-horsepower Corvette Z06, an American super car that has won over enthusiasts, journalists and racers around the world for its retain of racetrack-bred step, daily-driving civility and value.Options on the present-time Corvette Z06 are the same as that of the coupe and convertible minus the roof option.The Z06 version is aerosol the fastest and a outrance valid production Corvette ever, thanks to its 7 liter 505 horsepower engine.

Corvette Engine:

A trendy 6 liter engine with intake valves that commodity lightweight hollow stems, which enable the engines 6,600-rpm capability.To change the engines large valves and enable additional direct intake port flow, the intake-side rocker arms are offset 6 mm between the valve tip and the push rod.If connect gets the engine with a handling exhaust altogether the boundlessness increases to 436 horsepower.A considerable selection of 430- and 505-horsepower V8 engines which are well-suited of mind-blowing speed allows it to compete with yet valuable exotics. Versatile handling dynamics afford daily driving comfort an redoubtable 22.

Corvette Coupe:

Wheels on the current Corvette Coupe and Convertible models relate to with a immanent split-spoke wheel design for 2008.The coupe and convertible models of the yet again Corvette are powered by a 6 liter 430 horsepower engine.Optional on the 2008 coupe and convertible models is a navigation system, a transparent roof, a memory drivers seat, and a Bose music system with seven speakers.The six-speed paddle-shift automatic transmission on Coupe and Convertible is enriched with contemporary appliances and a trendy controller calibration that deliver quicker shifts.

Corvette Z06:

To further set it apart from the standard newfangled Corvette, the Z06 uses all-novel wheels, tires, brakes, as well as its plead guilty rear spring and roll stabilizer and the six-speed transmission that the engine is mated to has a limited slip differential.Some options that customers will declare versatile on the Z06 include polished, gray or chrome wheels, a telescoping steering wheel, heated seats, side-impact air bags, a navigation system with GPS and universal deeply remote.The Z06 has a wider tire semifluid, and composite vaporish body.The Z06 is powered by a 7 liter 505 horsepower engine.

Corvette Price:

The untapped Corvette for 2008 impresses with its exotic, yet lavishness-priced sports car execution abilities.The cabin is appointed with leather-led expendable that, along by with the untouched Corvettes observation, belies the affordable price tag. .The 2008, with a base price of $45,170, is arguably man of the establishment fruition-per-dollars.

Who could forget the car from Pretty Woman? For many women, this iconic movie is near the top of the list when it comes to favorite chick flicks. Even though Julia Roberts and Richard Gere charm, it’s the Lotus that steals the show for car enthusiasts.

In the movie, Julia Roberts, clearly impressed by the Lotus Esprit, says, “This has pedals like a race car. They’re really close together. So it’s probably easier for a woman to drive, ’cause they have little feet.”

Whether or not that’s true is up for debate, but it is certainly true that there are some marked differences when it comes to the favorite cars of men and women.

A J.D. Powers and Associates study found that only a few cars have more female than male owners – and the margin between the sexes is usually small. Among vehicles popular with women car buyers are the Volkswagen Tiguan, the Volkswagen Beetle, and the Hyundai Tucson.

Men, on the other hand, have historically been big fans of high-performing exotic cars like the Porsche 911 and Chevrolet Corvette. Both models boast 90% male ownership.

J.D. Powers and Associates reports that women are more interested in a car’s safety features than in the performance specs or entertainment options.

“Women renting a car for an anniversary or husband or boyfriend’s birthday is a significant part of our luxury car rental business,” says Ron Sturgeon, a motivational speaker and owner of a Dallas exotic car rental company.

“People suppose that most of our clients are men, but that’s not so. Some of our best and most loyal clients are women who appreciate the pleasure of turning heads in the latest and most exotic automobiles.

“There isn’t a gender gap when it comes to renting a Bentley GTC in Dallas or taking a dream drive in a Lamborghini Gallardo,” insists the Tarrant Country, TX car rental agency owner.

Part of the difficulty in interpreting statistics like those from the study by J.D. Powers and Associates study is that their researchers assumed that a male name on the title indicated the car choice reflected a man’s preference for the model.

That’s not necessarily so. For example, when a married couple buy a car, it is frequently only the man’s name that gets put on the title. It isn’t logical to assume that in every case the car titled to a man was not heavily influenced by the preferences of his wife or female significant other.

Marketing professionals may be underestimating the importance of women in car buying. Most car campaigns are either targeted exclusively toward men (like Chevy’s “Like a rock” tagline) or marketed to both men and women. In 70% of US households women share or have sole responsibility for the family finances. It’s not likely that a major purchase such as a car gets green lighted without a word or two of input from the lady with a grip on the purse strings.

And for those women hoping to drive a Lotus like in the one in Pretty Woman, there’s some bad news. The Lotus Esprit is no longer in production.

“We do have a Lotus Elise for rent,” says Sturgeon. “It’s a popular DFW sports car rental among both male and female because driving an exotic car like the Lotus never fails to turn heads of both men and women.”

If you’re feeling the itch to drive a sports car without making the investment to buy it, why not find an agency specializing in high end car rental in your area. An online directory of rental car agencies with cars as exotic as Richard Gere’s Lotus can be found at http:www.rentexoticcars.net.

Kate Miller-Wilson is a freelance writer living in the Twin Cities. Visit her website or email her for information about her freelance writing services

Some people’s livelihoods require them to drive big pickups. As enthusiasts, however, we’ve always been mystified by those drivers who choose a truck. It’s also a disturbing fact that despite lackluster performance, many of these trucks are piloted by hot dogs who think they’re driving sports cars but are in fact weaving in and out of traffic in bone-stock Ford F-150s and Chevy Silverados.

Oh, there have been a few low-volume trucks that perform reasonably well, but currently, neither Ford nor GM comes close to matching Dodge’s pair of blazing pickups—regular and Quad Cab versions of the Viper-powered Ram SRT10. We’d have trouble justifying the stratospheric $50,000 stickers on these beasts, but we know there are at least 4500 people happy with the sheer outrageousness of a 500-hp pickup.

But for the truly lunatic truck lover who can’t come to terms with the fact that his or her 5000-plus-pound pickup isn’t able to outrun Corvettes and Porsche 911s, John Hennessey has a solution. The president of Hennessey Performance Engineering, whose horsepower-crazed cars have graced our pages for years, recently brought his latest toy—an 800-hp version of the Ram SRT10 Quad Cab—to Hogback Road.

Shortly after the SRT version of the Ram went on sale, Hennessey got phone calls from owners familiar with his Viper transformations who wondered what he had available for the truck. The company now sells many upgrades for both regular and Quad Cab models, many originating from the Viper catalog.

The truck shown here has Hennessey’s $39,500 Venom 800 Twin Turbo package, very similar to the setup in the Viper that won our November 2004 Supercar Challenge, although this one retains stock internals and 8.3-liter displacement. The goodies include twin Garrett ball-bearing turbos that force 10.0 psi into the V-10 while a front-mounted air-to-air intercooler chills the pressurized air. Hennessey also added a $950 GReddy PRofec B-spec II boost controller to run the twin TiAL waste gates that bleed off excess pressure. The fuel pump, the lines, and the injectors were all super-sized but work with the factory engine-management system to keep up with the extra gasoline requirements to produce the claimed 800 horsepower and 850 pound-feet of torque. That’s a stunning 300 more horses and 325 more pound-feet than the factory version.

After we heard those numbers, we weren’t surprised that the standard four-speed automatic, the only transmission in the Quad Cab, had to be upgraded. Hennessey adds a $1750 torque converter that resists a big meltdown. And the transmission gets a $5950 tear-down, after which it sports a significantly beefed-up billet input shaft and clutch packs that can hold onto gears long after the turbos spool up. Skeptics, rest assured. Hennessey backs up the $48,150 powertrain creation with a two-year/24,000-mile warranty.

Rounding out our test truck’s upgrades were a $1950 lowering job (two inches in front and four inches in the back), a $195 trailer-hitch plug, and $4950 for a set of 0.5-inch-wider 10.5-by-22-inch Hennessey wheels that each weigh two pounds less than stock. All of this brought the cost of the “ultimate pickup” to $106,855, a heart-stopping increase over the $51,610 starting price.

This silver six-figure pickup looks similar to the stock version. The tasteful black badges are really the only clue to what lies within. Hennessey’s truck thankfully starts and idles normally and is even quite drivable as long as inputs to the throttle remain light-footed. Once up to cruising speed, we noticed a whoosh-whoosh alternating from side to side as pressurized air is short-circuited to the atmosphere from the intake passage.

The burly four-speed shifts abruptly and sometimes harshly, but so does the stock unit in the SRT10 Quad Cab. A brief drive revealed that the lowered suspension degrades the truck’s already stiff ride, and it doesn’t improve skidpad grip—we measured 0.82 g versus 0.83 in the stocker.

Kids, we’re here to tell you that launching an 800-hp truck is difficult. A burnout doesn’t describe what happened at the track when we stomped on the gas pedal. After the huge white cloud of tire smoke obscured John Hennessey—as well as the rest of the track—from our view, we figured the tires were amply warmed up. Hennessey’s recap: “Spank the loud pedal on this beast, and you will want to yell out, ‘Yeeeee-HAWWWW,’ even if you’re not from Texas.” We agree.

After a few tries, we found the sweet spot and recorded a 4.4-second 0-to-60-mph blast and a 12.4-second quarter-mile at 118 mph. That quarter-mile time makes the Venom Ram 1.8 seconds quicker than the non-turbo version. That bests the quarter-mile times of the latest Corvette and 911 and ties the test average in our “Lords of Envy” sub-200K supercar comparison in August, which included a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Ferrari F430, and a Ford GT.

At higher speeds, the shock value of the truck’s numbers increase. For example, Hennessey’s Ram accelerates from 0 to 120 mph in 13.1 seconds, or less than half the time it takes the stock version. And this truck is just 0.2 second slower to 150 mph than a ragtop Viper. Wow.

Okay, we’ll respect your right to choose a truck, as long as you pick this one.

Jason Heffner grew up with a simple goal. “I just wanted to work on fast cars,” he deadpans, which of course doesn’t answer the question of how this boyish-looking 29-year-old came to be modifying six-figure sports cars like the Lamborghini Gallardo and Ford GT.

Want to see a souped-up Mustang? We could turn up 20 of them by Friday. But a souped-up twin-turbo Gallardo? Until Heffner dropped us a line last winter, we wouldn’t have known where to look. In truth, after listening to him promise to deliver not only a twin-turbo Gallardo but a twin-turbo Ford GT to boot, we thought we had another crank caller on our hands. But in June, Heffner came through. You can read about the cars on the following pages, but in short, both laid down some giddy-fast figures.

Heffner’s shop is in Sarasota, Florida, but he began his career in 1994 working as a wrench at a Dodge dealership in Laurel, Maryland.

Heffner spent his free time tearing up local drag strips in a 1990 Mustang. He modified that car in countless ways, with cylinder heads, turbos, and superchargers. Eventually, he had it running the quarter-mile in under nine seconds. More important, though, that car was a rolling education for Heffner, as he doesn’t have a formal degree or a high-school diploma.

At 21, an age when most college students are facing the hard truth about getting a real job, the guy who didn’t finish high school got sick of being a routine car mechanic and opened a 1200-square-foot tuning shop in Glen Burnie, Maryland. He called it Heffner’s Performance.

His big break came in 1999 when a Viper owner liked what he saw in Heffner’s Mustang and hired him to supercharge the Viper’s V-10. Modified Vipers with superchargers and turbos are fairly common today, but seven years ago, Heffner says few had successfully boosted one. His blown Viper not only was fast but also didn’t explode at the drag strip. That success likely could have led to a decent business hopping up domestic cars like Vipers and Mustangs, but Heffner says he has a short attention span and gets bored easily. So in 2000 he took on a job that many shops would probably have turned down — supercharging a Lamborghini Diablo.

Most tuners won’t attempt modifying the Diablo simply because a mistake could mean bankruptcy — a new Diablo engine costs more than 70 grand. But Heffner made it work — 700 horsepower without a catastrophic meltdown. Word spread throughout the Lamborghini community, which seems far more open to modified cars than the Ferrari crowd, and exotics started appearing at his door. The rest, as they say, is history.

The roar of the Hennessey-massaged Hemi fills the Dodge Magnum interior with frantic, hard-edged V-8 surround sound at the same time it trumpets its baritone song to any bystanders within earshot. The heavy-metal exhaust note is remarkable — literally remarkable — because when I stop, our photographer, David Dewhurst, is suddenly at the window waxing lyrical about it. We begin to wish we’d brought digital recording gear so we could put this stuff on www.CARandDRIVER.com.

That big voice emanates from an equally big 6.1-liter Hemi ripping up and down a pretty dusty airstrip in Southern California, recording acceleration runs with angry blasts of sound and energy. Traction is an issue here, so we’re leaving on the Electronic Stability Program (ESP). It seems to be happy allowing both rear tires to spin at the same speed, and refrains from chopping the power. But we aren’t entirely happy about it because the big BFGoodrich 295s on 11-inch-wide, three-piece wheels have a problem hooking up under the aggression of 520 horses.

You have to tip into the throttle progressively to get the car rolling, transferring the weight to the rear end, then go to full throttle when it feels like Mr. Goodrich has a grip on things. Even then, the power builds so suddenly it can snap those hoops loose and turn your ET into acrid tire smoke. So what else is new? With the horde of 500-plus-hp megacars streaming into the market these days, we test drivers live in search of traction.

This dusty strip is not ideal, but the Hennessey Magnum still clocks 12.9 seconds and 114 mph as it breaks through the quarter-mile. That’s 0.7 second and 8 mph quicker than the already-fast SRT8 Magnum we tested in September 2005, and it doesn’t quit there. The SRT500 reaches 130 mph 4.8 seconds before the stock car does and feels every bit that strong. The top-end thrust is intense and exhilarating, and the wagon pulls hard enough to trigger ESP intervention even at high speed as it encounters pavement seams and cracks. Clearly, there is more to be had here if we could just find some grip. But, hey, this is Southern California, where test facilities are few and far between, and where the winter season has been accompanied by high winds and plenty of dust.

Perhaps we should have gone to Houston, Texas, where John Hennessey builds his tuner cars. That’s where the development work was done on the 6.1-liter Hemi’s cylinder head, porting and polishing the various orifices. Intake-port flow, for example, increased from 300 to 345 cubic feet a minute. The compression ratio was bumped a tick higher to 10.5:1, and the valve retainers were replaced with titanium units.

To increase intake airflow, Hennessey employs a cold-air-induction system (available separately for $450). To provide exhaust gases with a similarly easy passage, the car wears a dual stainless-steel MagnaFlow exhaust system and 1.9-inch stainless-steel headers. The engine modifications add up to $9950, including installation, but the stainless header tubes are optional extras, said to provide an additional 20 horsepower, and they run another $2950.

You could stop right there and have a big-horsepower Dodge Magnum (or Charger, or 300C, or Grand Cherokee, or anything with the 5.7 or 6.1 Hemi) for about $13,000. But then you’d have to forgo the adjustable KW Variant 2 coil-over suspension kit that ties the car down just that bit tighter than the stock setup and drops the ride height 1.5 inches in front and an inch and a quarter in the rear. You’d save $2795 right there.

You’d also have to run the stock SRT8 wheels, too, and miss out on Hennessey’s 20-inch Venom 6R three-piece wheels and the BFGoodrich KDW2 tires that set the SRT500 apart from the dealer’s car. (The wheels are $4950, the tires $1650, mounted and balanced.) Would that really matter? In our view, not much. The car we drove recorded a slightly lower lateral-acceleration number than did the stock Magnum SRT8 we tested last fall (0.85 g versus 0.87) and took slightly longer to stop from 70 mph, too (174 feet versus 170).

Given the dusty conditions, we’d say the Hennessey car would likely improve slightly on both of those numbers in a stickier environment. But the original SRT8 is not short of dynamic potential as it comes. John Hennessey chose not to replace the stock vehicle’s Brembo brakes, and that’s a measure of how well the SRT8’s chassis was sorted for the stock 425-hp drivetrain.

Still, if you’re going to drop a wad of cash on your new baby to endow it with more than 500 horsepower, why stop there? If the $37,995 SRT8’s 425 horsepower isn’t enough for you, then the stock suspension and 20-inch wheels aren’t likely to be, either. Besides, other than producing some rubbing noise in hard right turns, the upgraded suspension and lower ride height didn’t seem to hurt the overall ride character too much. A short drive on mainly smooth surfaces suggested the SRT500 would retain a fair degree of everyday civility when on domestic duty.

The accurate and deliberately weighted steering felt as good as ever, and body motions were well snubbed. As usual with the SRT versions, the big wagon felt as wieldy and responsive as a much smaller car might. It would take some time to gauge just how much throttle one could exploit at corner exits, but until then it might be wise to have the ESP act as co-pilot.

As we expected, Dodge’s five-speed automatic has adapted to the pumped-up engine as if nothing had changed. Shifts were fast and positive, and kickdown response summoned big gobs of torque in lower gears with the same seamless action you’d anticipate from the stock vehicle. As long as the new power doesn’t outstrip the transmission’s torque limit, that’s how it should be.

What’s particularly appealing about Hennessey’s SRT500 conversion is that it’s simply an amplification of what was great about the 6.1 Hemi in the first place. Nothing feels and sounds quite like a brawny, naturally aspirated V-8 breathing through nice wide pipes. And we can’t think of a better covert hot rod than a Magnum, with its chopped greenhouse and pugnacious front end.

Then there’s that sound. Hear it once, and you’ll reach for your checkbook.