SpringFest, once the largest celebration of modern Mopars in the country, has triumphantly returned after a six-year hiatus.

For those who aren’t familiar, SpringFest began in 2004 as a celebration of the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum. The show’s early incarnations were humble, with only a handful of such cars in attendance, but when the hugely popular Dodge Charger and Challenger were introduced in 2006 and 2008 respectively and started to appear at SpringFest, that’s when the powder keg went kaboom, launching the show into an entirely different echelon.

The event went on to expand exponentially every year. Chrysler executives began attending, including Ralph Gilles, then President and CEO of Dodge. By 2019, over 2000 cars were in attendance and Chrysler brought a large display of current vehicles as well as sneak peaks at future colors, options, and even forthcoming cars.

Alas, all that Mopar goodness came to an end that terrible spring of 2020, seemingly never to return.

With a high degree of personal elation though, I’m excited to tell all of you past SpringFest devotees who have lamented the show’s demise that the Dark Ages have ended, the plague has lifted, and the dusk has given way to dawn. SpringFest is back, and I was in attendance!

A Great Show Reborn

Early morning detailing to get cars show-worthy was an essential task before the event began. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

I arrived at the show site – the parking lot at the Hotel Complex in Lake Forest, California, just a few miles outside of Irvine — bright and early before the event began, and after parking my all-too-appropriate 2023 Dodge Durango SRT 392 HEMI daily driver in the spectator parking area, met up with a pair of friends I planned to take in the show with.

We began our stroll through the display area, noting the fastidious, last-minute detailing being performed by show entrants on their beloved Dodges, Chryslers, and Jeeps, and immediately ran into the two prime forces behind the show: John Fortuno and Eric Landeros.

More early morning detailing. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

John, long familiar to most enthusiastic SoCal Mopar owners, is the man credited with starting the SpringFest phenomenon all those years ago. Eric, owner of Staga Motorsports, helped assist in the spiritual resurrection of the show, by creating FallFest, a SpringFest style show which, for the past two years, was held in the autumn.

These two titans of the Southern California Mopar scene decided this past winter that the time was right to bring SpringFest back and joined forces to see it come to fruition. After a brief conversation with John and Eric, my friends and I began to take in the splendid Mopars that were on hand.

The stars of the day rolling in bright and early. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

The first car of note we came across was hard to miss: a 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 in shocking Sublime green over a black leather and Alcantara interior. I probably don’t have to regale anyone who is reading this as to the Demon 170’s prowess, but for posterity, it is simply the quickest and most powerful muscle car in history.

Featuring a heavily factory modified and tuned version of Dodge’s venerable 6.2-liter supercharged HEMI V8, the Demon 170 churns out an incredible 1,025 horsepower and 945 lb-ft of torque when running on E85 ethanol fuel. Routed through an eight-speed TorqueFlite transmission and a massive rear containing 3.09 cogs, all that power translates to some spectacular performance numbers. How spectacular? Try a record holding 1.66-second zero-to-sixty time, a g-force acceleration of 2.004, and a truly demonic 8.91-second quarter-mile ET at 151.17 mph.

A stunning Sublime green 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

Packed with a bunch of ancillary mechanical equipment designed for the strip such as a transbrake, a Torque Reserve system, line lock, an SRT Power Chiller intercooler, Race Cool Down cooling system, drag calibrated suspension, and more, the Demon 170 was designed to slay all potential rivals.

This Demon 170’s color, combined with its stock Mickey Thompson drag radials mounted to ultra-lightweight, matte gray wheels, ensured that it looked as audacious as it runs. What a beast.

Next-Generation Muscle

The yet-to-be-released, 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona R/T four-door. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

A bit further down the display area we came across several examples of the most controversial car Dodge has ever produced: the 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona EV.

By this time you’ve no doubt read copious articles about Dodge’s daring attempt to produce an electric muscle car, and perhaps you have even gotten a glimpse of one at a dealership or even on the road, but what you haven’t seen unless you were in attendance at SpringFest 2025 is an example of the forthcoming four-door version of the car. That’s because Dodge specifically chose the show to feature the world-wide debut of this version of the Charger Daytona.

A beautiful example of the Chager Daytona EV’s antecedent, in B5 blue and slammed. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

Based on the same Stellantis STLA large platform as the Daytona coupe, the four-door is identical in every way to its two-door brethren aside from the extra pair of doors,. This includes the electric drivetrain, which consists of the R/T coupe’s pair of 400-volt electric motors that put out a combined 496 horses and 404 lb-ft of twist delivered through an all-wheel drive system.

The Charger Daytona sedan at the show was painted in a brand-new hue joining the lineup called Bludicrous metallic. Think of a slightly darker and bolder shade of B5 Blue, and you’ve got it.

• 
• 
• 

Dodge also brought along a trio of 2025 Charger Daytona coupes to SpringFest. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

Dodge was kind enough to also bring a gaggle of Charger Daytona coupes to the show and they sat near the sedan. The cars included a Diamond Black Crystal Scat Pack featuring a new, “over-the-top” stripe package featuring a “Fratzog” logo pattern bordered by red pinstripes, a Destroyer Gray Scat Pack which also featured a new graphics package highlighted by a diagonal striped hood graphic and “Daytona” callouts on the rear fenders, and an unadorned Redeye red R/T Stage 1.

While I’m no fan of fully electric cars, and the Daytona’s artificial Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust sounded rather ridiculous to my ear when the cars were started up by Dodge reps throughout the afternoon, I must say that the aesthetic design of the car is phenomenal in the flesh. It seamlessly combines sleek, modern lines, and proportions with retro cues that recall the iconic, second-generation Charger of 1968-1970. It’s truly a thing of beauty.

Drop the 6.2-liter Supercharged HEMI V8 like the one in this 2023 Charger into the new Charger body style, and I think the car’s critics would be instantly silenced. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

While sales of the EV Charger have thus far been extremely poor, I believe that things will turn around once the twin-turbo Hurricane “Sixpack” internal combustion version drops this summer. What’s more, sources in Detroit have told us the Charger will once again receive HEMI engines of the 5.7, 6.4, and supercharged 6.2-liter varieties. When that comes to pass in the 2026 and 2027 model years, I’m willing to bet that this generation of Dodge Charger will ultimately become one of the company’s best-selling vehicles ever. Mark my words if you care to.

• 
• 
• 

Challengers abounding. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

As they had in many past SpringFests, Dodge brought along a selection of colors for folks to vote on to be included in next year’s Charger color palate. Included were “The King” blue, “Cha-Ching” green, “Rizzberry” pink, “Dope” beige, “Ghost Pepper” orange, “Rosted” brown, “Get Kracken” turquoise, and “Finish Lime” yellow. I couldn’t help but place my vote for “The King,” a euphemism for the Petty Blue of old.

Once again, Dodge brought potential future colors for us to vote on. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

Modified Muscle

Continuing on through the field, we came upon the heavily modified group, featuring a bunch of cars that had been customized to the extreme.

Present was a late model Charger SRT Hellcat draped in a eye-dazzling, red, pink, white, and black “urban camouflage” wrap, a 2023 “Last Call” Chrysler 300 392 HEMI, which, in addition to sporting bespoke gold graphics, was lowered and outfitted with custom wheels and white-letter rubber, and a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk wrapped or painted in what could best be described as baby aspirin pink. Several more cars, including a slammed Challenger rolling on 24-inch bright red multi-spoke wheels, reminded everyone that Mopar people don’t hold back when they mod their cars.

• 
• 
• 

Modified Mopars were legion. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

Another gorgeous ride that Dodge brought was the very first example of the Last Call 2025 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Brass Monkey Edition that I’ve seen. The Brass Monkey, along with two other Durango Hellcat models, the Hammerhead and the Silver Bullet, were created to celebrate the end of this generation of Durangos.

All three feature the 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat motor tuned to deliver 710 horses and 645 lb-ft of torque mated to an eight-speed TorqueFlite that transmits power to all four wheels via a full-time all-wheel drive system.

The 2025 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Brass Monkey Edition. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

Making the Brass Monkey special is a unique exterior paint hue called Red Oxide – a very dark metallic maroon – plus a matte black hood, 20 x 10-inch brass-colored multi-spoke wheels mounted with Pirelli P-Zero rubber, a beautiful black and sepia colored interior with Laguna leather seats, an Alcantara steering wheel, chopped carbon fiber inserts on the dash, console and doors, and the 10.1-inch Uconnect 5 touchscreen with navigation. I must say, the Red Oxide paint looked very expensive under the Southern California sun.

A couple of other cars that caught my eye on our walk-around were a 2012 Challenger SRT 392 Yellow Jacket, and a 2023 Challenger SRT Super Stock.

A rare 2012 Dodge Challenger SRT 392 Yellow Jacket. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

The former was a limited-edition version of the Challenger that paid tribute to a 1969 Dodge show car. Key to the model was a one-year-only Stinger Yellow exterior paint color complete with blacked out exterior trim and a thin black side stripe with a “Yellow Jacket” call-out. Special 20-inch wheels, yellow interior stitching, and custom Yellow Jacket startup graphics on the touchscreen completed the package. Only 1,310 Yellow Jackets were produced, and this one had custom touches such as an aftermarket grille and yellow-painted wheel spokes.

A 2023 Challenger SRT Super Stock. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

The latter car, the Super Stock, was the highest performance, drag-oriented Challenger offered at the end of the model’s run, save for the Demon 170. The Super Stock was outfitted with an 807-horsepower version of the 6.2-liter supercharged engine from the Hellcat Redeye, drag-tuned suspension, 18-inch lightweight five-spoke wheels mounted with street-legal Nitto NT05R drag radials, and all the special drag features of the Demon, including line-lock, Power Chiller, Race Cool Down, and a Torque Reserve system. This Super Stock looked absolutely splendid in F8 Green, one of my favorite Dodge colors.

Roundtable Discussion

The roundtable panel. (From left to right): SpringFest creator John Fortuno, Kevin Hellman, Senior Vice-President of Dodge SRT Product, Scott Kruger, Vice-President of Dodge Exterior Design, Andy Love, Vice-President of Dodge and SRT Global Sales, and Ryan Nagode, Vice-President of Interior Design for RAM, Dodge, Chrysler, and Jeep. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

Just before lunchtime, a roundtable discussion hosted by John Fortuno was held in the hotel featuring the Dodge executives that were in attendance at the show. They included Kevin Hellman, Senior Vice-President of Dodge SRT Product, Scott Kruger, Vice-President of Dodge Exterior Design, Andy Love, Vice-President of Dodge and SRT Global Sales, and Ryan Nagode, Vice-President of Interior Design for RAM, Dodge, Chrysler, and Jeep.

For the better part of an hour, these gentlemen, and about 30 Mopar enthusiasts, salesmen, automotive journalists, and yours truly discussed a range of topics including the short- and long-term plans for Dodge moving forwards, the timeline of Charger ICE releases, and most importantly, what we, the Mopar community, hoped to see and also not see in the coming years.

SpringFest has something for everybody, like this flawless 2008 Dodge Magnum SRT8. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

Suffice to say, I think these men now have a very detailed understanding of what their hardcore constituents want and expect. It was one of the best, most absorbing roundtables I’ve ever been a part of, and that’s saying something as a veteran of perhaps 50 or 60 of these over my career as an automotive journalist.

After the discussion, my friends and I had a look at the merch booths of many of the show’s sponsors, including Vöxx Wheels, Carven Exhausts, American Brother Designs, Glassskinz Window Louvers and others. Voxx was kind enough to donate a set of their fantastic wheels to the promotors, which were raffled off later in the day.

This highly modified Grand Cherokee represented Jeep well. (Photo by Rob Finkelman.)

Towards the end of my time at the show, I had occasion to chat with my friend Eric Landeros again, who was very pleased by the turnout of cars and people at the show.

“We wanted to start small again as we reintroduced SpringFest to folks, but this turned out to be bigger and better than we planned,” Eric told me with a smile. “It bodes well for the future shows, that we plan to make larger each year.”

(Image courtesy of SpringFest.)

Not only do I have complete confidence in Eric, John and the rest of the SpringFest team moving forwards, but I intend to be there every annum to soak up all the SpringFest fun.

I hope next year you’ll join me!