I've always loved this car, my wife found the DVD this week and got it for me.. Its the Dodge M4S "Turbo Intercetpor" NOTE: In the second part, the email states its based on a "modified Fiero Race Chassis" pretty cool...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dodge Turbo Interceptor
John Abram Cargo wrote:
There was a Dodge Turbo Interceptor pace car built by Chrysler and PPG Industries for $1.5 million. It was used in a movie called "The Wraith." Filmed in outside of Tuscon, Arizona, in 1986, stared Charlie Sheen and Nick Cassavettes. There were six copies of the car that were built for the movie. The car was rear-wheel-drive, power by a 2.2L Cosworth twin-turbo in-line four. That is the extent of my knowledge on this car. (Greg Landon added: this car was written about in a book called "dream cars" several years back. These cars were powered by a 2.2 liter, twin intercooled turbo, dohc, pumping out a supposed 440 horsepower.)
Matt Runion wrote:
I just wanted to comment on the Dodge Turbo Interceptor that is mentioned on the Pace Car page. It seems that little is known about this car. I did read in a book just a couple of hours ago that the car that is being called the Turbo Interceptor by me and everyone else was actually called a Dodge M4S at the 1986 Chicago Car Show. In that book it mentions the 440 horsepower figure.
Even more interesting than 440 hp from a 4-cylinder might be that on the opposing leaf of the book I was reading, there is a car that is reported to have a 600 hp twin turbo 4-cylinder!
~~~~~
This vehicle should have top billing over Charlie Sheen in the film (it was in the movie for about twice as many scenes as Charlie Sheen!). This car is known as 'The Wraith' or 'Turbo Interceptor' in the film. The vehicle was originally a pace car developed by Chrysler and PPG in 1984. Over 30 cars were constructed for the film for various stunts and crash sequences. The beauty version of the car featured a $30,000 paint job. The M4S was a slippery teardrop sports car design that was seriously considered for production. However, Dodge did not produce it because of high manufacturing costs (the marketing people in 1984 saw no market for a high-performance Dodge sports car for about $50,000 -- although the Viper proved otherwise).
The vehicle was track tested and achieved a top speed of 194.8 miles per hour. The car's drivetrain utilized a 5 speed manual transmission out of the '85 Dodge Turbo Daytona. The engine was a stock block, the durable 2.2 liter Inline four used in other Dodge offerings like the Dodge Daytona and Aries. This engine made 400 horsepower thanks to twin Garrett T25 turbos, a twincam Cosworth 16-valve cylinder head and Bosch L-Jettronic fuel injection (this research was later used to developed the 2.2 liter Turbo 4 used in the Iroc Daytona and Spirit R/T). Under normal driving conditions, this engine combination averaged around 27 mpg in the city and over 30 at highway speeds (mileage dropped to around 23 mpg past 150 mph).
Other Notable features on this car are Gullwing doors and its clam shell hood. The really nice part, this vehicle featured a mid-engine layout (very unique for a Mopar). Actually, the Dodge Designation M4S stands for Mid-engine 4 Cylinder Sport. The car also featured a perfect 50/50 weight distribution between its front wheels and rear wheels. It rolled on 15 inch aluminum wheels (depicted with a gold tint in the film). These same wheels soon became optional on Daytona, Acclaims and Chrysler minivans.
The Vitals:
2.2 Trans Four OHC 8 valve I4 (2198 cc / 132 cid)
400 Horsepower @ 7000 RPM
300 lbs of torque
0-60 mph in 4.1 seconds (estimated)
1/4 mile: 12.9 seconds @ 104 mph (estimated)
Top Speed: 194.8 (observed speed - Road & Track Magazine)
~~~~~~~~
In my phone conversation with the designer of the car, he said it weighed about 2700 Lbs...
Ohh I forgot.... When was it made.... Bob Ackerman was asked to make that car back in 1982.... Here is the Email Bob sent to me... I am removing his phone number for obvious reasons.:
"Mike Koran of Special Vehicles Inc. (SVI) emailed me regarding your request for information about the Dodge M4-S
I was asked to design a Dodge PPG pace car in l982 for completion and use in the PPG Indy Car Series for l983. Chrysler could not start eh chassis from scratch, so I suggested using a race car chassis that Joe Huffeker, Engineering was making for the Pontiac Fiero Race Car. A chassis was then purchased by PPG and sent to SVI for further modification.
In the meantime, I was working at Special Projects Inc. on the body form which was later cast and sent to SVI for installation on the chassis.
This car originally had 21 coats of lacquer and the windshield is from a Ferrari Boxer tipped to 73 degrees (six degrees more than in the Ferrari).
I am not retired from Chrysler and have some pictures that I thought you might appreciate if you send me your mailing address. If you would like any additional information, you have my email address and my phone number is xxx-xxx-xxxx
Bob Ackerman"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
------------------
~ 84 Indy (Race Project) ~ 85 SE 2.5 5spd (NSAN1T) ~ 85 SE 2.8 4spd ~ 84 SE (?Parts?) ~
