2010 Hemi Cuda Convertible

[1320wayne]

Here was another stunner seen at the car show at the Daytona Speedway this past weekend. This is a 2010 Hemi Cuda convertible converted from a 2010 Challenger. It was absolutely incredible looking.

[diymirage]

looks awesome

but...why is the shaker attached to the hood ?

[Eric Stone]

but...why is the shaker attached to the hood ?

Because it's non-functional. The blower (looks like a Kenne Bell) is nice, but the non-functional shaker scoop is LAME.

[Joe Handley]

The pointless shaker is kinda dumb, but it's nothing compared to the top when it's up. That top just kills the lines of the car and doesn't even come close to looking right on the car.

[diymirage]

The pointless shaker is kinda dumb, but it's nothing compared to the top when it's up. That top just kills the lines of the car and doesn't even come close to looking right on the car.

porsche is about the only car manufacturer who can make convertables that look good with the top up or down because they are the only ones left who still design cars as converts instead of taking a coupe and axing the roof

having said that, what a waste on that hood, completly kills the credibility of the car, fake hood scoops belong on hondas NOT on cudas

[Joe Handley]

I've seen a lot of tops that look decent on cars, but this one looks wrong to me, especially in white

Here's what it looks like in black;

Edited November 29, 2010 by Joe Handley

[Danno]

Those "Hemi" billboards on the rear flanks look bad ... kinda like a 400 lb woman wearing white spandex leotards.

[Joe Handley]

Yea, the shape of them on that car just doesn't look right either now that you mention it.

Edited November 29, 2010 by Joe Handley

[Harry P.]

They obviously were going for the look of the old hemi cuda, not the function.

I agree, the car is clunky looking, especially in profile. It needs about a 6" section taken out of the body for starters. Front and back end look good, though.

It's tough to improve on the almost flawless styling of the original.

[ian ashton]

The pointless shaker is kinda dumb, but it's nothing compared to the top when it's up. That top just kills the lines of the car and doesn't even come close to looking right on the car.

I disagree, I think the top looks pretty good. I think it's pretty sweet how Mr. Norms re-tooled steel quarter panels for the Cudas to look "right".

[Rob Hall]

I disagree, I think the top looks pretty good. I think it's pretty sweet how Mr. Norms re-tooled steel quarter panels for the Cudas to look "right".

I didn't notice the quarters the first time I looked at it, then I realized it on second glance..has the Barracuda style straight-through crease rather than the Challenger hop-up crease...

[MrObsessive]

They obviously were going for the look of the old hemi cuda, not the function.

I agree, the car is clunky looking, especially in profile. It needs about a 6" section taken out of the body for starters. Front and back end look good, though.

It's tough to improve on the almost flawless styling of the original.

You got that right Harry! I said the exact same thing when I first saw this car-------------too heavy in the mid section.

Those "Hemi" billboards on the rear flanks look bad ... kinda like a 400 lb woman wearing white spandex leotards.

I have a more wicked analogy that some may not like but I can't help but think this...........I see many cars with beautiful rooflines, but terrible lower body styling. It reminds me of a very overweight woman (obese) who does up her hair and face real nice, but the rest of her is atrocious!

[MrObsessive]

i agree, very nice looking car!

not sure what's wrong with the convertible top? the side profile picture to me looks fine, just like any other convertible with the top up?

Hmmmm.......................

Maybe I'm stuck in the '60's early '70's, but convertibles back in those days seem so much better styled than the ones I see today. Personally, I don't like the "rake" of the current convertible's top as opposed to the original. To my eyes, the rear bow of the top sits too high throwing off the look.

Also as I mentioned above, the midsection of the car is just TOO BIG. As Harry mentioned, if someone would do a good section job out of this car, what would be a "nice" car can become an outstanding one IMO.

[Harry P.]

Here is literally 15 minutes of Photoshopping. Give me half the time and budget they spent on this and I could do it up right!

[MrObsessive]

That DOES look good Harry! Now if you could change the shape of the rear quarter window to something larger with squarer corners, it'd be about perfect!

The quarter window just looks too small to me with all that real estate that's behind the doors. Also in 1:1, it would sure help with the blind spot with such a large sail panel.

[Harry P.]

that looks good Harry a couple things i'd change, and i know you only put a few minutes into it. put the fender gills back, i think that's an important retro detail. reduce the height of the rear fascia/bumper and make the vertical taillight area slightly bigger, then make sure the bottom angled section of the billboard matches the angle at the top.

i'm glad you left the top alone because if you pull the back forward and slope it more it makes this thing a 2-seater. not like the backseat is probably too comfortable for anyone other than small children anyway, but still.

Yeah, this is what amounts to a "quick sketch"... literally 10-15 minutes in PS. I would finesse the details a lot more if I were doing this "for real." Sorry, those gills look waaay too "JCWhitney".

BTW, I did alter the convertible roofline a bit. It's not quite as tall and clunky as it is in the original. Not a big change, but a change...

[Chuck Most]

They obviously were going for the look of the old hemi cuda, not the function.

I agree, the car is clunky looking, especially in profile.

I'd agree, but then so is the new Challenger, so no harm, no foul! I hope my phantom 2011 Hemi 'Cuda model ends up looking halfway decent.

[diymirage]

getting back to the new Hemi 'cuda convertible the one thing i think looks a bit funny is the way the billboards are done. if you look though there isn't much that can be done to change that. pull the "Hemi" section down and you then have the stripe running across the door handle. push the bottom edge up and it runs across the side marker. to get the billboard on there required a compromise, maybe the '70 style hockey stick stripe would look better?

if they would have stuck with the origenal font on the billboard it would have looked much better

you know, where the letters "HEMI" are the same colour as the rest of the billboard instead of just the outline like they did

that little detail makes the whole thing seems half way done

[Joe Handley]

if they would have stuck with the origenal font on the billboard it would have looked much better

you know, where the letters "HEMI" are the same colour as the rest of the billboard instead of just the outline like they did

that little detail makes the whole thing seems half way done

Eelco's got a point, the way it's done there doesn't look right, and it seems like the word HEMI should be larger and cover more of the door as well.

[Eric Stone]

I've been complaining about the thick body of these since the Challengers came out. I still say the Challengers look fine from the door handles up, but there's too much of it below that... For some reason, it only bothers me on the two door models- The older 300 has basically the same proportions, and I like it. To me, the Charger has enough other problems that I don't notice the thickness on it.

Of course you know what part of the anatomy opinions are like...

[Rob Hall]

The tall, slab sides has been a styling aspect of all the LX models (300,Charger, Magnum, Challenger). Never cared for the thickness, or the tiny side windows of the 300 and Magnum. But the pure goodness of the RWD V8 nature of these cars make me overlook the chunkyness..

[SoCalCarCulture]

I like the Challenger as a convertible...

...but, depending on who does the conversion, the top may not be aesthetically pleasing...

...saw this with the top down, then later in the day with the top up - this one looks awkward to me!

The pics are from this year's Festival of LXs, click here to see them all.

[Marc @ MPC Motorsports]

They obviously were going for the look of the old hemi cuda, not the function.

I agree, the car is clunky looking, especially in profile. It needs about a 6" section taken out of the body for starters. Front and back end look good, though.

It's tough to improve on the almost flawless styling of the original.

Almost every new car on the road today shares this affliction. Look at the new Ford Taurus, Chevy Camaro, Ford F-Series trucks, etc, etc.

[Joe Handley]

Got a profile pic of that triple black R/T with the top up Dave?