Words Darren Jacobs | Photos Joe Vaughn - Mopar
Words Darren Jacobs | Photos Joe Vaughn - Mopar
Words Darren Jacobs | Photos Joe Vaughn - Mopar
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(Cover Story)<br />
<strong>Mopar</strong>®<br />
Masterminds<br />
Meet the elite team within <strong>Mopar</strong>®<br />
that is bringing to life today’s most<br />
remarkable “<strong>Mopar</strong>ized” rides.<br />
words <strong>Darren</strong> <strong>Jacobs</strong> | <strong>Photos</strong> <strong>Joe</strong> <strong>Vaughn</strong><br />
A <strong>Mopar</strong> Performance Team creation: the<br />
Woodward Dream Cruise Challenger.<br />
By day, they man offices and cubicles, attending routine,<br />
9-to-5 jobs. But at night and on weekends they assemble,<br />
as if in imitation of a comic-book superhero team, taking<br />
up tools and joining forces under the Blue Omega M<br />
insignia to build wild rides and preserve truth, justice<br />
and the <strong>Mopar</strong>® way of life.<br />
They’re the <strong>Mopar</strong> Performance Team – nine<br />
engineers and technicians, passionate car guys all,<br />
who have the collective superpower to breathe life into<br />
trailblazing “<strong>Mopar</strong>ized” image vehicles such as the<br />
<strong>Mopar</strong> Challenger V-10 Drag Pak, Ram Runner, <strong>Mopar</strong> ImMortal, and <strong>Mopar</strong><br />
’10 Challenger, to name a few. Working together at their “hideout” (<strong>Mopar</strong>’s<br />
Engineering Laboratory in Center Line, Mich.), the team’s exploits have been<br />
chronicled on magazine covers, television and the Web, but the superhero<br />
similarities stop right there. You see, the <strong>Mopar</strong> Performance Team’s feats<br />
aren’t mere flights of fancy, but instead real-steel works of art.<br />
“We’re doing things that people dream about,” says Tim Prusinowski<br />
(a.k.a. “Dr. P.”), Engineering Laboratory Supervisor and a group member for<br />
13 years. “I consider this <strong>Mopar</strong>’s candy store. I love this. This is my passion.”<br />
13
Team member Tony Carvallo, grinding<br />
away at his dream job — building Jeeps.<br />
The <strong>Mopar</strong> Performance Team’s roots run deep, to the<br />
“Our job is to demonstrate what can be done with these<br />
muscle-car era, when the <strong>Mopar</strong> brand as it’s known today began<br />
to take shape. “A line can be traced to the 1960s, to the teams<br />
that built <strong>Mopar</strong> package cars, to the first employee who said,<br />
‘We can make more horsepower if we work together,’” explains<br />
longtime team member Steve Houtman, Off-Road<br />
Performance Engineering, and a driving force<br />
behind the group’s many off-road conceptions. The<br />
overall vision of the team has remained unchanged<br />
through the years: craft stunning vehicles, wow<br />
enthusiasts and media, and demonstrate what can<br />
vehicles using <strong>Mopar</strong> parts and accessories,” says Houtman.<br />
“Bottom line – we help fuel the passion of our customers.”<br />
And do their jobs well they have. The <strong>Mopar</strong> Performance Team<br />
has produced a fleet of matchless rides, unveiled at high-profile<br />
shows including Moab Easter Jeep ®<br />
Safari and the<br />
Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA)<br />
Show (see page 17 sidebar for details on a few of the<br />
group’s greatest hits). All vehicles are built with the<br />
aim of real-world applications.<br />
“With these projects, most of them end up on<br />
be created utilizing <strong>Mopar</strong> parts and accessories.<br />
the showroom floor, or with a new part or product<br />
“I consider this<br />
“We bring the performance side,” declares<br />
featured in our catalog,” says Brian Falzon, <strong>Mopar</strong><br />
<strong>Mopar</strong>’s candy<br />
Bill Brown, Performance Engineering Manager,<br />
Engine Accessories and Performance, who was deeply<br />
store. I love<br />
who also specializes in off-road vehicle builds.<br />
“We’re pushing the envelope, offering products<br />
the customers and dealers want.”<br />
this. This is my<br />
passion.”<br />
– Tim Prusinowski<br />
involved in the birth of the <strong>Mopar</strong> Challenger Drag Pak.<br />
Adds Tony Carvallo, the Jeep Performance Engineer<br />
who spearheaded the making of the Jeep Wrangler<br />
Blue Crush that wowed the crowd at the 2011 Moab<br />
event, “All these projects branch off to something that<br />
came to life, like the Ram Runner kit, the portal axles<br />
from the <strong>Mopar</strong> ImMortal and the JK-8 kit.”<br />
The creative process often commences<br />
immediately following an event. “We come up with<br />
concepts, bounce them off each other,” explains<br />
Houtman. “Most ideas, at least for off-road, have<br />
come during the drive back from Moab. We have<br />
30 hours in the vehicle to discuss next year.”<br />
After initial sketching, planning and plotting, the<br />
team gathers regularly at the <strong>Mopar</strong> Engineering Lab<br />
to begin birthing a new image vehicle. Late nights<br />
and long hours ensue, as team members balance day<br />
jobs with the extra-curricular demands required to<br />
complete their prestige projects.<br />
“We’re all dedicated,” says Evan Murphy,<br />
the team’s engine specialist and youngest of<br />
the group, who in his 9-to-5 role assists on the<br />
<strong>Mopar</strong> Direct Connection tech line. “Our passion<br />
pushes us to work as long as the job requires,<br />
and at the end of each project, our dedication<br />
is revealed in the craftsmanship and innovation<br />
infused in each vehicle.”<br />
“It’s a job that’s challenging, but a job you love to<br />
do,” seconds Al Kalaj, Program Manager, Performance<br />
& Street, also instrumental in the birth of the Drag<br />
Pak. Jokes Houtman, “We put in a lot of hours and<br />
weekends – I think sometimes our wives question<br />
whether they even have husbands.”<br />
The team is a true band of brothers, working<br />
through each project side-by-side. Each member<br />
utilizes their skills and talents to the utmost in<br />
order to complete each project.<br />
“We all work well together and all have our specialties, but we<br />
work as a team to create great things,” chimes in Marty Wilson, Lead<br />
Performance Planner, <strong>Mopar</strong> Performance Parts, and the newest<br />
member of the squad. “We’re our own subculture within the company.”<br />
“Bill, Tony and I are the core off-road guys,” explains Houtman.<br />
Evan Murphy (left) and Rich Hwang begin<br />
work on a <strong>Mopar</strong> Performance Team<br />
project for 2012.<br />
“Brian, Al and Marty are more street and performance, Rich Hwang<br />
is our muscle guy, Evan is the new generation HEMI ® expert, and<br />
Tim helps bring the vehicles to reality. But no matter if it’s racing,<br />
street or off-road, everyone pitches in.”<br />
Working in such close proximity for long hours breeds<br />
the bonding – and good-natured ribbing – expected in such a<br />
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MOPAR’S FINEST<br />
Here are some of the creations from the<br />
<strong>Mopar</strong> Performance Team:<br />
1 <strong>Mopar</strong> ’11 Charger The team developed performance parts<br />
for this limited-edition Charger, just the second <strong>Mopar</strong> edition of a<br />
Chrysler Group production ride.<br />
2 Jeep Wrangler JK-8 Independence Debuted at the 2011<br />
Moab Easter Jeep Safari, the JK-8 foreshadowed <strong>Mopar</strong>’s<br />
introduction of a new kit to transform Wranglers into pick-ups.<br />
3 <strong>Mopar</strong> ’10 Challenger The first-ever “<strong>Mopar</strong>ized” version of<br />
a Chrysler Group production vehicle featured performance parts<br />
developed by the team, including a cold air intake and hood pins.<br />
tight-knit group. It’s common for jokes and insults to be traded<br />
within factions of the group.<br />
“Just watching the back-and-forth while we’re working, the way<br />
we dog one another might surprise an observer,” explains a chuckling<br />
Houtman. “It’s the same type of kidding you might find within a sports<br />
team, and just like in that environment, when crunch time arrives, there<br />
are no other people you would want on your side. Our team has formed<br />
very strong bonds working together.”<br />
Aside from spending more time with one another<br />
than they do with their significant others, the team is<br />
also united by a lifelong passion for <strong>Mopar</strong>.<br />
“As a kid my first memory of a <strong>Mopar</strong> was<br />
bouncing up and down on the seat and beating<br />
Falzon speaks the truth. Despite heavy workloads, most<br />
team members have at least one personal-project <strong>Mopar</strong><br />
waiting in their garage. Hwang rolls in a 1969 GTX, Falzon is<br />
restoring a 1973 Dodge Challenger with a 5.7L HEMI, Brown<br />
drives a 2006 Dodge Charger slammed with <strong>Mopar</strong> parts,<br />
as is Wilson’s 2010 Dodge Challenger, and Murphy drives a<br />
2005 Dodge Magnum with 6.4 stroker. “No one is driving a<br />
grocery-getter,” brags Houtman.<br />
“I’ve owned a dozen Jeeps of my own, and I<br />
still have two that I wrench on,” offers Carvallo.<br />
“I’ve been building Jeep vehicles since I was<br />
fifteen. This is pretty much my dream job. I’m<br />
right where I want to be.”<br />
the hell out of the horn,” says Rich Hwang, who<br />
When a project is complete, team members<br />
“We put in a lot<br />
along with Murphy works the <strong>Mopar</strong> Direct<br />
sometimes attend (and work) the event at which their<br />
of hours and<br />
Connection Tech line. “My dad’s first brand-new<br />
creations are unveiled, providing a chance to experience<br />
weekends – I<br />
car was a 1968 Roadrunner. Since then, <strong>Mopar</strong>s<br />
the public’s reaction and hear vital feedback.<br />
think sometimes<br />
have interested me.”<br />
“Sometimes the cars are like rock stars, with<br />
our wives<br />
“This is the most passionate group of engineers<br />
media around, and people going crazy,” marvels<br />
question whether<br />
and technicians that you’re going to come across,”<br />
declares Falzon. “These guys go home and wrench<br />
on their own stuff.”<br />
they even have<br />
husbands.”<br />
– Steve Houtman<br />
Carvallo. “What I find cool is when the public<br />
realizes there are people just like them inside<br />
<strong>Mopar</strong>. The corporation isn’t disconnected. We<br />
“This is my dream job,<br />
working to bring to life<br />
the cars that excite our<br />
enthusiasts.”<br />
– Bill Brown<br />
share their passion, because we are them.” Echoes Falzon,<br />
“That’s the coolest thing, to see people taking pictures, crowding<br />
around. It’s an awesome feeling of accomplishment.”<br />
The reception from within Chrysler Group has obviously been<br />
a thumbs-up. The proof is in the many high-profile projects in the<br />
pipeline for the <strong>Mopar</strong> Performance Team this year. During a recent<br />
visit, much to the delight of the team, the group was already hard at<br />
work on top-secret 2012 assignments.<br />
“I know management appreciates what we do, because they<br />
keep giving the team new projects,” says Carvallo, with the smile of<br />
a man who loves his job. “It never stops. Once we’re done with one<br />
build – we’re right on to the next one.”<br />
Looks like there’s even more late nights and weekends in the <strong>Mopar</strong><br />
Performance Team’s future – and they wouldn’t have it any other way!<br />
4 <strong>Mopar</strong> ImMortal The ImMortal received a rock-star<br />
reception from off-roaders at the 2010 Moab Easter Jeep<br />
Safari, and introduced new <strong>Mopar</strong> portal axle assemblies.<br />
5 Woodward Dream Cruise Challenger This hot red<br />
“<strong>Mopar</strong>ized” Challenger turned heads at the 2009 Woodward<br />
Dream Cruise in Royal Oak, Mich., and served as the<br />
inspiration for the <strong>Mopar</strong> ’10 Challenger.<br />
6 Jeep Wrangler Blue Crush Another vehicle introduced at<br />
the 2011 Moab Easter Jeep Safari, the Blue Crush was inspired<br />
by the King of the Hammers race.<br />
7 <strong>Mopar</strong> Challenger V-10 Drag Pak Revealed at the 2010<br />
Viper Owners Invitational, the V-10 Drag Pak is the first and<br />
only 500-plus cubic-inch V-10 drag-race package car.<br />
8 Ram Runner First glimpsed soaring over the dunes at the<br />
2010 Moab Easter Jeep Safari, the Ram Runner can now be<br />
seen as the pace truck at Traxxas TORC off-road races and is<br />
available to consumers as a kit.<br />
9 <strong>Mopar</strong>/Magneti Marelli Rally Avenger This rally-ready<br />
Avenger heralded <strong>Mopar</strong>’s new partnership with parts supplier<br />
Magneti Marelli.<br />
To learn more about the <strong>Mopar</strong> Performance Team<br />
and their wild rides, visit www.mopar.com, or check<br />
out <strong>Mopar</strong>’s Facebook page.<br />
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