In an event like the SEMA show, there are cars that grab your attention and do not let go, regardless of what you see. This year’s event left me with a short list of cars that were highlights, and the shortest list of them all involved the cars that were chosen for the Gran Turismo Awards. Sung Kang’s “Fugu Z” Datsun is a knockout. Brett Behrens’s V-10 powered Ford Mustang II has had my full and undivided attention ever since I first saw it in a Ford commercial for the Mustang’s 50th anniversary celebration. But the car that Jay Leno gets to look over and drive in this episode of Jay Leno’s garage was solid inside and out. This is “Tantrum”, a 1970 Dodge Charger built by SpeedKore Performace in Wisconsin. It sports enough carbon fiber parts to make supercar owners jealous, details that would make a classic Italian coach builder smile with a tear in their eye, and a Mercury Marine 9.0L V8 that with two turbochargers that puts down enough horsepower and torque that tire manufacturers worry about inadequacy. And they should, since Tantrum is packing a solid 1,650 horsepower, pushing it through a Tremec/Bowler six-speed manual. It is beautiful, it is crafted to a high degree, and it sounds like it is ready to eat your children in front of your eyes. And, for the first time ever, it seems that Leno is concerned about driving a car. We don’t blame him: this isn’t a car that can be trifled with.
Why is “Old Aircraft Carrier Chin” Jay Leno not presenting Top Gear?
Instead we have a specky wimp who modifies every car he tests with a Jackson Pollock style barf paintjob .
So come on Jay shoot that annoying ginger nut and do us all a favour…
I am a born and raised Mopar Man. But the Tantrum is awesome, nothing to say negative here. I love the car, and yes purist will have a negative viewpoint. But when new technology is innovated into an old school platform. One must congratulate the creativity and the courage to do something different and unique. Great job guys!!