Following years of blood, sweat, and tears, Greg Murphy’s lovingly rebuilt Dodge Charger has broken cover on the other side of the world in the US, courtesy of renowned car builders, the Ringbrothers.
After extensive prep in New Zealand, Murphy’s Charger was sent to the Ringbrothers several years ago. Like most of the firm’s hand-crafted builds, completion of the charger would take years.
The Charger, named ‘CAPTIV’, is packed to the rafters with custom bespoke parts produced specifically for the car, making it a one-of-one of sorts.
These range from most of the switchgear in the cabin to the dual Flowmaster side-exit exhausts in the rear bumper. The flat-bottomed steering wheel is also a scratch-built Ringbrothers creation, utilising a 3D-printed horn button, billet aluminium spokes, and carbon fibre hoops.
CAPTIV is a marriage of old-school muscle and modern motorsport influence, with the Charger’s bold, familiar lines contrasted with a modern Hellcat donk under the bonnet and all sorts of grip-and-go improvements.
The supercharged Mopar Crate Hellcat engine, partially exposed through the custom bonnet, produces a “streetable” 707hp and 881Nm of torque, coming paired to a Tremec six-speed manual transmission, with a carbon fibre driveshaft sending power to the rear wheels.
Each of the custom HRE wheels comes wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber, with a comprehensive Baer brake package and adjustable shocks sitting in behind.
“This project has been years in the making,” says Ringbrothers co-owner Jim Ring.
“The project was started more than 8,000 miles from where it was finished with work being carried out on either side of the Pacific. Greg and his team did phenomenal work before it came here, and it was a joy to work on such an amazing build together.
“This marks the second time this car was built in America, first in Detroit in 1969 and now in Spring Green, Wisconsin in 2021. We couldn’t have pulled this off without the help of our partners at Motul, Holley, BASF, HRE Wheels, GFS, and so many more.”
“I still haven’t quite found the words to express my gratitude to the awesome RingBrothers team for this unforgettable experience and this stunning build,” Murphy posted on social media.
“Thank you to all the suppliers for their support, too. Cannot wait for it to get back to NZ.”