Who: Jonathan Sholtis
Where: Fort Meade, Maryland
What: '11 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 Kowalski Edition
The legend of the white '70 Challenger R/T driven by Kowalski in the 1971 cult classic film Vanishing Point lived on long after the movie played in theatres and drive-ins from coast to coast-especially in the mind of Bob Frederick, whose father was a Dodge dealer in Canfield, Ohio. Eventually he followed his father into the business.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Sholtis fell in love with the LY-Body Challenger when he saw the concept car at Carlisle back in 2006, and he made up his mind that he'd have one.
Fast forward to 2010. Bob Frederick convinced Ma Mopar to make a run of ten Bright White '11 Challenger SRT8 392 Inaugural Editions, all equipped with the 392-inch Hemi, a six-speed manual transmission, stripe delete, Dark Slate SRT seats, 20-inch aluminum SRT wheels, and more.
These ten also got a Pistol Grip shifter handle and chrome exhaust tips (like the '70 R/T in the original movie had), a distinctive rear spoiler, a special dash plaque, Scat Pack bee stickers on the rear quarter windows, a reproduction of the Colorado plate seen on the movie car, and a unique fender tag and broadcast sheet.
All ten Kowalski Edition Challengers sold as soon as they were in, on word of mouth only-no advertising of any kind was needed to move them!
Jonathan's is number six of the built, and he opted to have a three-inch Flowmaster exhaust system added to his SRT.
Want your own Kowalski Edition Challenger? You'll likely have to wait until one of these ten comes onto the market, as Frederick says he currently has no plans for another run.
Got A Hot One? Same idea here as for our Penta Stars section: Send a brief description of your late-model Mopar ('06-later Charger, Challenger, Magnum, or 300) and some choice pictures that show what you've got, and we'll run it in the monthly Late Model Spotlight. High-resolution digital images work the best (4x6 inches file size, 750 kb-2 mb file size, and 300 dpi resolution). We can also handle clear, sharp 4x6-inch color prints on photographic paper (not on computer paper) if you're still shooting on film. Email your submissions to: mopar.muscle@sorc.com or send 'em via U.S. Mail or Canada Post to: Mopar Muscle, c/o Late Model Spotlight, 9036 Brittany Way, Tampa, FL 33619 USA.