1970 Plymouth Duster “Twisted Redeye” Race Car Hides Direct Connection Crate HEMI Under Dual Snorkel Hood

Even in today’s classic muscle-worshiping market, names such as the Plymouth Duster have a bit of an understated aura to them. And what better way to use this to one’s advantage if not building a full-of-surprises race car with the body of such a 1970s compact offering riding on top of a modern chassis and using the current Gen III HEMI firepower?

The 1970 model year was a pivotal year for Mopars, with Chrysler’s brands benefiting from tons of reinforcements, from the new E-Body Dodge Challenger and third-gen Plymouth Barracuda, to massive improvements applied to the A-Body, the smallest RWD platform in the stable. And this is where the Plymouth Duster entered the scene, with the vehicle being produced through 1976.

While the bigger boys like the E-Body offerings mentioned above targeted the ever-more-powerful Mustangs and Camaros, A-Body compacts were battling models like the Chevy Nova or the AMC Hornet.

The Duster borrowed the Valliant economy car’s platform and front end, but came with a much sportier design from the cowl back, including a semi-fastback profile. At the same time, the engine range climbed higher up the horsepower ladder.

And the debut year of the Plymouth Duster was successful enough to see the Dodge brand receiving the sexier body for the 1971MY in the form of the original (Dart) Demon.

As you know, Dodge more recently used the Demon nameplate for a now-retired Challenger incarnation that debuted back in 2017 as the world’s quickest production car with an official quarter-mile time of 9.65s.

This rendering portrays a now-ready race car package based on the 1970-1976 Plymouth Duster

Returning to the Plymouth Duster, this pixel portrait, which comes from digital artist Abimelec Arellano (aka abimelecdesign), showcases a race car pack. The drag strip offering mixes the almost stock body of the classic model with a purpose-built chassis and modern Gen III HEMI motivation.

The real-world proposal comes from Illinois-based Ready Chassis has created a rolling chassis that’s compatible with the supercharged 6.2L Hellcat Redeye crate engine that Dodge offers via its recently-revived Direct Connection official upgrades program. Keep in mind the V8 churns out 807 horsepower and 717 lb-ft of torque in stock form.

The chassis is eligible for competing in the Door classes including NMCA Specialty and the Modern Street HEMI Shootout Pro and SuperPro Classes.

In addition, the specialist also offers turnkey race cars with Plymouth Duster bodies like the one shown in the 3D work.

We use low-mileage, salt-free cores taken from the dry West and Southern United States climates. We never cut up the high-demand models: so you won’t find the 340, GTS VIN’s or Superstocks in our assembly line,” the developer states.

Quick specs

The 7.50 ET certified Chromoly tube roll cage and frame is accompanied by four-link wishbone rear suspension and AJE or Reilly Motorsports front suspension, along with a long list of prepped surface-friendly hardware.

Ultimately, you can currently choose between two levels for the Tiwster Redeye package. And with the race car fully leveraging on the compact, lightweight nature of the Plymouth Duster, we’re looking at impressive quarter-mile numbers. To be more precise, the SuperPro can deliver 8.50 ETs with a 170 MPH trap speed, while the SuperCar 255 is good for 7.50 ETs/190 MPH.

As one would expect, there are also plenty of options to choose from, while many of the iconic High Impact Colors that Chrysler launched in the summer of 1969 are available, which explains the selection portrayed here.

As a finishing touch, the digital artist added the recent Challenger SRT‘s dual snorkel hood (it’s not clear if this can be had on the real race car), which looks right at home on this retro machine. Then again, you’d expect it to, given that the said Dodge Dart Demon sibling of the Duster came with a similar option back in the day.

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