Words Darren Jacobs | Photos Joe Vaughn - Mopar

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