SP Rides: Ooh Baby

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BY MICHAEL KITCHENS

Name: Leon Sims
Age: 45
Occupation: Emergency manager
Hobbies: Bowling, tennis, cars
Year/Make/Model: 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8
Color: Plum Crazy Purple
Build Time: 2 years
Engine: 2.8L Kenne Belle liquid cooled supercharger, Beverage delete dress up kit, polished air intake, 2Killerglass Hemi upper hose, fuse box and battery cover, Kooks long tube headers, Flowmaster Super 40 exhaust
Exterior:  Front and rear headlight and tailight tinted covers, Billet fuel filler door, multi-color LEDs
Interior: Custom Interior Stitching, AEM boost, air/fuel gauges, Hydro-dipped shift knob, purple monkey
Brakes, Wheels and Tires: Brembo calipers, slotted rotors, 22-inch Dodge Viper replicas with custom center caps, Nitto 295/30R and 35R 22s

Most of our first experiences with cars occur in our early years, sitting on Dad’s lap behind the steering wheel making beep-beep noises or riding along on those trips to the store.

Leon Sims is no different. He fell in love with the Dodge Challenger as a wee lad in the 1970s and owned his first car, a ’67 Chevelle Malibu SS, as an 18-year-old kid fresh out of high school.

Fast forward a couple decades and Leon has been behind the wheel of just about every type of car, including imports. He’s always been into modifying, but his heart has always yearned for a properly built Dodge Challenger. Dodge reintroduced a modern take on the classic shape in 2008 and soon Leon felt the time was right. He began looking into purchasing this 2010 Dodge Challenger before opting for the SRT8 model, which comes stock with a 6.1L Hemi V8 and cranks out 425HP stock from the factory.

Leon’s favorite color is purple so he jumped at the chance when this Plum Crazy Purple beauty became available. The entire color scheme of the car is a svelte black and purple scheme that is highlighted by racing stripes and gorgeous multi-color LEDs placed strategically throughout the car. Both the front and rear lights are fitted with blackout covers, and the rear gas lid has been swapped out for a trick custom billet piece.

The interior has been treated right with some incredible custom stitching on the seats and head rests, which feature the Mopar SRT8 logo. AEM boost and air/fuel gauges provide onboard monitoring when Leon’s foot gets heavy. A recent application technique new to the scene is the hydro-dripped purple shift knob, which has become quite the rage. In addition, Leon has a purple monkey hanging out for good luck.

The wheels are 22-inch Dodge Viper replicas and feature custom Mopar center caps by Billet Technologies out of Florida. Nitto 295/30R and 35R 22s wrap all four corners with some pretty meaty contact patches for this supercharged car.

“I made up my mind that I was going to do it,” he says. “I told everyone I was gonna get ‘bling and zing.’”

The zing came from the 2.8L liquid-cooled Kenne Bell supercharger pumping out over 525HP after a tune from Spankintime Motorsports in California. The bling comes from the large number of polished and billet parts: the beverage delete dress up kit, the polished air intake, Killerglass upper hose, fuse box and battery cover, to name a few. When combined with the purple LEDs, the engine bay absolutely dazzles upon first opening. Kooks long tube headers and a Flowmaster Super 40 exhaust add the extra grunt to the supercharger whine.

Leon loves this concoction of purple goodness, so much so that he calls it his “Baby.” And as we all know, no one would ever put this Baby in the corner.

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