Photos: Robert DeLuna

Those of us that like participating in cars shows must, sooner or later, come to the realization that restraint is not what brings home the big iron. Yes, if you have a red car, you’re off to a good start in participant voting shows. Still, to consistently be called up for awards takes more than good taste and half the grocery budget. What brings the blue ribbons back is what George Patton called, “L’audace. Toujours l’audace.”

Taking that philosophy to heart does not always win universal approval, but then you have to decide what is more important. A case in point is Elvis Skender. Ever since the television car designers popularized large wheel fitments, some segments of the enthusiast population have charged, like lemmings to a cliff, into the world of 20+ inch wheels.

Skender took delivery of his 2006 Charger SRT8 from new and recently became intrigued by what he calls the aggressive wheel fitment movement. Talking about his objectives, Skender said, “I wanted something different from your everyday Charger, you know, the ones with 26″ rims and Lambo doors, or your typical American Muscle with the sleeper look, so I took a risk and did something no other Charger owner has ever thought about doing. I dropped the car almost 4 inches, then I bought these aggressive looking Viper Reproduction wheels and mounted them.”

The rims are 22 x 10-inches, with a 245/30R22 tire, on all four corners. It took some time to get the car looking like he wanted, though. “I didn’t nail it right away, but after a narrower set of tires, some wheel adapters and lots of rolling and pulling of the fenders, it was finally looking like I wanted it to,” he explained.

Looking at the result, while many will feel that its not something they would do, most have to agree that Skender got it pretty much right. In combination with the BC Racing Coilovers that he’s using, the car has that all-important “stance” that identifies winners.

Not everyone is going to love it, nor would they be prepared to drive a car with one inch of ground clearance. Despite this, there is little doubt that Skender and Patton do share one characteristic – L’audace.