Very shortly, you’ll be able to walk into a Dodge dealer and put money down on a new Dodge Dart compact sedan. While the Dart you can buy promises to be much better engineered and built than the Dodge Caliber it replaces, it’s still no match for the Dart that Travis Pastrana will be driving in the 2012 Global RallyCross season.
Pastrana’s Dart gets 600 horsepower and all-wheel-drive, while the Dart you can buy gets a fraction of that and sends its power to the front wheels only. We seriously doubt that the Mopar parts catalog has what you need to build a Dart with 600 hp sent to all four wheels, and we’re pretty sure that Pastrana’s ride isn’t street-legal in any of the 50 states. It does look plenty entertaining, though, and we’d welcome the chance to spend a day behind the wheel, playing in the dirt.
Also, don’t forget that you can get discounted new car pricing with a free quote through qualified local dealer partners.
The Global RallyCross season kicks off in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 26, and Pastrana can expect serious competition this year. Dave Mirra is back, again driving for Subaru, while Tanner Foust and Marcus Grönholm will be driving the proven Ford Fiesta. Rhys Millen will compete in the series this year, driving an all-new Hyundai Veloster. If you want to check out the schedule of events or learn more about the Global RallyCross Series, head on over to the GRC webpage.
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.