Let’s face it: Mopar is a different breed. They don’t have the massive floor space that Chevrolet and Ford have in the main hall at SEMA, they’re owned by a foreign company that removed the most symbolic emblem the company has ever had, and they also happen to have a couple of Hellcats that everyone else thinks are too heavy. It seems that while the rest of the musclecar world was looking to find fault with the Hellcat, the true Mopar fanatics were wandering SEMA looking for it.

But even with all the negative publicity of late, the diehard Pentastar fans knew where to go and were treated to some very cool rides that didn’t require a lot of media hype. The entire time we were there it was crowded, with people sitting in the Hellcat Challengers and Chargers, checking out the T/A concept, and even getting bottom-side photos of some of the Jeep displays. One car that we didn’t see right off the bat: the 300C.

We believe that Mopar would have brought out their most interesting vehicles, but even a sporty version of the 300C was there last year along with the 200. This year it seemed to be all about performance and horsepower, off road and road racing… oh, and a 10,000 horsepower drag car.

We’ve seen a few factory race cars in various motorsports lately, and just when we decided we liked them, they were gone. Remember the NASCAR Charger? It was gone before it started. The SRT Vipers are out of LeMans. Let’s hope the Trans Am Challengers and this beast of a funny car will hang around a bit longer… we need to see some (real) Mopars in the winner’s circle … and soon!

The Challenger T/A Concept was a welcome site: 485hp, and a list of performance features that includes a rear strut bar, coilover lowering kit, lightweight Hellcat wheels, and that sublime paint that reminds most of us of Sam Posey’s famous #77 Challenger T/A. What’s not to love?