The Challenger 2

Danny Thompson broke 400 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2016 as he set a class record with his 5,000-hp Challenger 2, a restored refined version of the streamliner originally built by late father the legendary Mickey Thompson in 1968. Danny set the overall AA/FS record as he averaged 406.769 miles per hour (MPH) over a measured mile.

In September 1960 Mickey broke the magical 400 MPH barrier as he ran 406.6 MPH in his Challenger 1 powered by four supercharged Pontiac engines, but it was not recognized as an official record as he was unable to complete the required return run.

 

The slimmer, sleeker “Autolite Special” Challenger 2 built in 1968 by automotive fabricating legends Quin Epperly, John Buttera, Tom Jobe, and Nye Frank was intended to finally get Mickey Thompson officially over 400 MPH, but bad weather foiled the attempt and the project was set aside for two decades. In 1988, Mickey planned to renovate the Challenger 2 for his son Danny to drive.

That plan was interrupted when Mickey and his wife Trudy were murdered in their driveway by two unknown assailants. Years after his father’s tragic murder and the conviction of Mickey's business partner Mike Goodwin of the crime, Danny got Challenger 2 out of storage and spent a reported $2 million to rebuild it to modern SCTA (Southern California Timing Association) safety standards.
 

 

When the author chatted with Danny Thompson at the 2017 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show in Las Vegas, he shared that in 2018, to mark five decades after Challenger 2 first touched salt, he will try to best his previous top speed of 435 MPH. Danny's goal is to set the piston engine-driven world record, unseating George Poteet’s “Speed Demon,” which holds a 437.183 MPH SCTA  national record and a 439 MPH world record.

 

 

Instead of the original Ford  SOHC (single overhead camshaft) 427-cubic inch engines, the Challenger 2 is now powered by a pair nitro-fueled 2500-horsepower non-supercharged Brad Anderson “Hemi” V-8 engines which uses an all-wheel drive configuration.

 

Twin three-speed gear boxes link the two engines together and counterbalance the power output, while the front of the car houses two 30-gallon aluminum fuel tanks that hold just enough nitromethane fuel for one full speed pass. Challenger 2 uses Optima batteries, which explains the car’s presence in the Optima booth at the 2017 SEMA show in Las Vegas.

 

 

 

The Challenger 2 measures 32 feet in length, with a height of 27 inches at the tip and 37 inches at the canopy, and is 34 inches wide and weighs 5700 pounds ready to run.

All photos by the author