07/10/2026
Done because showing the world what we are capable of is well past due.
An original Static design. David and Jamie spoke of, and researched this concept for 2 years.
The idea? We need to break tradition... By being traditional. Fire with fire...
Did you guys know that a Chrysler product hasn't won the Detroit Autoramas Ridler award since 1967?
Plenty have made the Great 8 over the years. But none have taken the hardware. The reason? The Ridler judges view Mopar cars as street machines over hot rods or cruisers. Mopar builders also try to keep as much original as possible on older 40s and 50s cars. The Ridler requires and intense amount of hand fabrication. Not aftermarket bolt ons.
Enter X-Static Detroit Concepts partners David Kedrow and Jamie Needham. Doing extensive research of the cars that take the hardware... There's quite a lot of sleds.
So what can we use? A 40s Plymouth? A 53 Chrysler 300 with a 331 Fire Power HEMI engine? Both great choices .. But not bold enough... Not different enough ..
After spending 2 years looking at many different cars that were put out by Chrysler Corporation... 1 stood out to us.
The 1949 Dodge Coronet 2 door hardtop.
Originally supposed to be dark grey with red accents here and there .. The car was to be extremely dramatic. In fact it was first supposed to be called Drama Queen.
But... A HUGE accident happened...
David accidentally grabbed a "green grey" marker instead of a "cool grey".
But instead of scrapping the drawing and starting a new one.... His instinct was to keep laying the color.
Everything about this concept was changed as the process continued....With no thought... Just instinct and seeing where the pencil took him.
The side trim became CNC machined flush mounted polished aluminum with orange inserts. Pieces of the trim were simply removed all together. The top was chopped 3 inches and the windshield became a single piece.
A car that was supposed to be a meta build... 6.4 Hemi engine... Modern tubular suspension and coil overs... Over sized red steel wheels wrapped in performance tires... And an original 1949 interior to be modified to hold modern features so the studio could say "See, we can do that too!" Turned into something else entirely in the blink of an eye.
David and Jamie decided, that because of this massive mistake of grabbing the green marker... The concept will now be titled "Jaded".
A fitting name for the Dodge and the studio alike.
They did away with the Hemi V8... Why? Dodge didn't offer a V8 in their cars until 1953. It's infamous "Red Ram" Hemi.
The 1949 Coronet was offered with an inline 6 engine only... A 230 cu. in. flat head that made just a touch over 100hp.
Well .. that wasn't gonna work either... So he looks into the old 225 hyper 6... Then the Australian HEMI inline 6 engine....
But ultimately... They wanted something more modern. And dropping a 4.0L from a Jeep just wasn't fitting the idea.
So... They landed on the 3.0L Hurricane twin turbo inline 6 engine, with a custom milled adapter plate to use the Vipers and Challengers Tremec TR6060 6 speed manual Transmission. Also modifying the engines lack of oil dipstick and many other computer controlled aspects to be bypassed. Painting the engine block the very same gold color that came on the 1949 230 flat head... And mimicking the factory plastic engine cover with a CNC polished aluminum and orange cover. Giving the car modern power... Efficiency... Cooling .. and one hell of a shiny engine bay.
Interior went a different direction as well. Inside the car would actually have a HEAVILY modified 2026 Grand Cherokee dash and door panels. These components will be stripped entirely of thier factory gauges, audio, buttons, and even wrapped in dark green leather with orange hand stitching. The trim is to be CNC machined polished aluminum with orange inserts. The ventilation and speaker grills to be CNC machined hand polished aluminum inspired by the original 49 central heater unit. The lower half of the interior and seats are peanut butter brown hand stiched leather with dark green threading. The gauges custom made to resemble the original 49 Dodge gauges in soft blue, and all the remaining trims done in real hand cut, layered, and epoxy coated mahogany wood to pay tribute to the wooden dashboard that came in 1949.
And our favorite part of the interior? The saddle blanket inserts in the seats and door panels paying tribute to everybody's Grandpa's cars having saddle blankets tossed over the seats to cover all the cracks in the vinyl.
They decided simply using modern brakes, and tubular arms wasn't enough for Jaded. David studied the 1996 Gen 2 Dodge Viper chassis extensively. There was only 1 problem that could be found. The Gen 2 Vipers wheelbase is 96.2 inches, and the 49 Coronet 2 doors wheel base is 123.5 inches. A MASSIVE difference.
Using the knowledge gained from working in, and designing for custom Viper shop MuscleHead Inc in Lewisville... which is now closed... Combined with his experience in professional motorsports and racing... He was able to find the perfect structural areas to cut and extend the Vipers chassis while keeping its motor and transmission placement benefits. The car is to use the Challengers Getrag 3.91 rear differential with modified mounts to hang in exactly the same position as the Vipers Dana 44 IRS rear end. The Vipers suspension would be setup with the same coil over setup as the Team Oreca Le Mans triple crown winning Gen 2 Viper, but all polished to a beautiful gleam.
The wheels are designed in house. 2 piece CNC machined polished aluminum barrels, with brushed aluminum spokes and hubs overlayed with a semi gloss subtle tone of Champaign gold.
This car took an incredible of time and research... Napkin sketches .. and wasn't even supposed to be this color scheme at all...
So was it a mistake? Or did a higher power take control of this and put David and Jamie on this creatively free course?
Either way .. X-Static Detroit Concepts is proud to FINALLY present our freehand drawn 49 Dodge Coronet concept rendering that is "Jaded"
This is not AI, this is not photo shop... This is hand drawn art work on paper. There's no airbrush... There's no paint... This is a proprietary layering method invented in house.
Real... Actual... Art...
