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Chrysler’s groundbreaking PT Cruiser sent a shockwave through the automotive world when the hot-rod inspired family car was launched last year.

Instantly acclaimed as one of the cars of the moment, its retro-styling inspired many PT Cruiser owners and would-be customisers to take their car even further down the route of unconventionality. 

Whilst customising PT Cruisers developed into nothing short of a craze, Chrysler in the UK was working on its own definition of the ultimate Cruiser. 

Radical project

Chrysler UK embarked on a PT Cruiser concept with a difference. The project evolved into something far beyond that which would be seen on a street corner, with the creation of the ‘baddest’ and fastest PT Cruiser the world has seen.

Nick-named the PT 'Bruiser', the car's statistics are enough to make any enthusiast drool: 1,183 horsepower, just under 800lb ft of torque, 0-60mph acceleration in just 1.2 seconds and a top speed over the standing quarter mile of 160mph. Clearly, the figures surpass those of any supercar on the planet. Chrysler’s baddest bruiser of a Cruiser is designed to deliver this performance in the world’s most explosive form of motor sport: drag racing.

Track transformation

Evolving a road car into a full-race specification version capable of delivering such mind-bending acceleration means starting with a clean piece of paper and a team of Chrysler specialists, acknowledged as the very best in their field, were employed to work their magic.

For design and construction cue renowned racecar builder and a former top drag racer Geof Hauser. Regular drag racing enthusiasts may remember Geof campaigned a succession of Chrysler ‘muscle cars’ on the strip in the 1980s before founding his own race car preparation business in 1984. Geof and his technical manager, John Webster, are two of the most respected names in UK drag racing and have built scores of outstanding racecars.

Webster opted to build a FIA Pro Stock legal 25.1C spec spaceframe chassis for this very special PT Cruiser, constructed from chrome-moly aircraft-specification tube for lightness, strength and flexibility.

He started with a safety cell around the driver incorporating extensive rollover protection, and then suspension pick-up points, axle mountings and ancillary bracketry were added. As the spaceframe began to take shape, attention turned to engine location. This is especially critical in drag racing to ensure the sort of weight transfer necessary under hard acceleration to generate maximum grip and aid stability. Compared with the standard-issue PT Cruiser, the engine in the Hauser-designed machine sits much lower and farther back than in the original.

The Chrysler V8 Hemi-derived engine is equally unique. The only one of its kind in the UK, it comes from the naturally aspirated 'Formula 1' of drag racing - Pro Stock, direct from legendary Swedish racing driver and engine builder, Jari Konola.

The 500 cubic inch (8,193cc) engine nestling under the distinctive bonnet develops a thundering 1,183hp at a heady 8,700rpm, or put another way, it produces about 144bhp per litre. 

The cast-iron block is topped with heavily ported Chrysler B1 aluminium heads fitted with titanium 2.5 inch inlet and 1.825 inch exhaust valves. For all its sophistication and power, however, the engine still uses only two valves per cylinder, and has a single camshaft operating the overhead valves via pushrods. 

The key to its power output is a combination of huge capacity, 4.6 inch cylinder bores, a relatively short stroke by V8 standards, which allows it to rev, a 15.0:1 compression ratio, and unique, gas-flowed cylinder heads fed by two fuel-slurping, four-barrel Holley carburetors flowing 114 octane VP Racing petrol at a rate of four gallons per mile. The tuned exhaust system consists of custom-built headers and drainpipe-sized, 4.5 inch collectors, all of which are designed to ensure the exhaust system matches the engine’s appetite for fuel.

In Pro Stock racing, this engine would normally be connected to a special racing transmission, equipped with individual levers per gear, but for simpler operation and greater reliability, a two-speed automatic transmission with heavy-duty internals has been selected. The torque converter has its ‘stall speed’ adjustable up to 5500rpm, which means it will only launch the car off the line once it reaches the predetermined rpm. 

And that launch will be pretty spectacular, with 33 inches of super-sticky rear slicks transmitting the engine’s power to the ground. Tyre sidewall thickness is just 2mm, two-ply construction while maximum tread depth is 6mm. Combined with the soft sidewall, it means when the tyres spin at high speed, they grow ‘taller’, which effectively raises the gearing. Under hard, retina-separating 3.0g acceleration, weight transfer to the rear of the car is enormous and can cause the front wheels to become airborne. To counter this effect, a pair of ‘wheelie bars’ has been fitted at the rear of the car to prevent the nose reaching for the sky. 

Unlike a normal road car, the PT Cruiser’s drag racing brakes combine a four-wheel disc brake combination with the most powerful callipers at the rear, where most grip is generated. Additional braking is provided by the obligatory parachute, which instantly knocks off about 50mph once opened.

Aluminium interior

On the inside, sheets of aluminium panelling have been rolled and shaped to fit throughout, effectively isolating the driver from the outside world. The driver’s seat is a lightweight aluminium shell and within fingertip reach of the steering wheel is the gear lever, line-lock (for locking the front wheels in burn-out mode) and parachute release - essential in a car of this power and performance.

Outside, the ground-hugging, nose-down stance and comical, apparently mismatched front and rear wheel sizes hint at the huge performance potential. The PT Cruiser’s original steel bodywork is retained, although now of single-skin thickness for weight saving, along with lightweight Lexan windows. The result is a car that tips the scales at just 2,150lb, a reduction of some 1,306lb compared with the standard, road-going PT Cruiser. Combined with the 1,183hp engine, the car now boasts a mightily impressive power-to-weight ratio of over 1000hp/ton.

The machine has been designed to run in the highly competitive ‘Super Comp’ drag racing category, which caters for any type of drag racing vehicle capable of producing consistent quarter mile performances of 8.9 seconds at around 160mph. Put into perspective, this is faster than any production road car, faster than any production motorcycle, and even faster than an F1 racing car – by a comfortable margin.

Driver

The driver chosen to tame this very special PT Cruiser is experienced drag racer, Paul Marston, who has been campaigning a 700hp plus 1972 Dodge Dart for three seasons. This hairy muscle car recorded a best standing quarter-mile time of 9.92 seconds in October 1999, which helped Paul to victory in the Super Gas final. Paul has also demonstrated the Dodge at the Brighton Speed Trials over the past couple of years, stunning the crowds at the historic south coast event, where the car has set new class and outright speed records.

"Switching from a car capable of running the quarter mile in nine seconds, to the PT Bruiser which is capable of running well into the seven second zone when unleashed, is a challenge I'm really excited about," said Paul.

"All of us at Paul Marston Racing are going to have a great time developing and racing the PT Bruiser, and anyone who gets to ride in the passenger seat is sure to be impressed," he added. 

"There's an intensive test programme to go through in 2001 but I think we have the makings of an extremely competitive package. The season starts in April at Santa Pod and with a successful test programme we hope to be able to qualify in the top ten and maybe go a few rounds.

"Super Comp (8.90) is a really tough class and although this sport is proud of its friendly co-operation in the pits, no quarter is given out on the track. We'll have to fight for every point but you won't find a more hard working and dedicated crew and come what may we'll give it our best shot to be competitive every time."

As well as appearing at the UK’s top drag race meetings, the PT Bruiser will also make a series of special appearances at other motor sports events and at Chrysler showrooms throughout the year.