Not The Usual Suspects: Mopar Is Teasing A Vintage Muscle Concept For SEMA, And It Looks Like A Deep Cut

First Oldsmobile ended up on a NASCAR entry sheet, now Mopar is bringing what sure looks like a Plymouth to SEMA – suddenly it feels like the mid-1990s. The Olds appearance was apparently just some sort of error, but this Plymouth situation is one that Mopar itself has sort of semi-confirmed with a new teaser image.

Dubbed “Chapter 2” (we’ll get to Chapter 1 soon enough), a single image shows the front of what looks like a classic Plymouth Belvedere GTX. Along with it, we get a single question and pseudo answer. “What kind of future is there for a legendary muscle car? A concept from Mopar may show the answer.”

So Mopar wants to show us the “future” for a “legendary muscle car.” That doesn’t sound too far afield from other vehicles it has debuted in the past, so let’s consider what this concept might actually end up being.

What Do We Expect?

Based on the image, this looks like a Belvedere GTX. The way the front of the hood hangs over the inner lighting elements appears to indicate that at least. In 1967, the Belvedere GTX was a badge-engineered version of the Dodge Coronet R/T. That same year, the GTX was available with one of two burly V8 options. First was the 440 Super Commando with 375 horsepower. Second, buyers could opt for the 426 Hemi. Clearly, power was a major selling point for this muscle car.

That said, some bits of this concept also look quite unique. The hood has a set of unique vents and scoops. The original Belvedere GTX had forward-facing hood scoops that gathered air into the engine bay. These appear to be cowl-induction scoops that cover far more space on the hood. In addition, a chin spoiler looks like it’s sitting low on the front end of this concept.

Interestingly, Mopar teased something similar last year with another vague post featuring what looked like a Dodge Challenger. “Get ready for a jolt” is all the teaser image said. Stellantis would then completely bow out of the SEMA show before revealing whatever it had in mind.

A year before that, Mopar showed up at SEMA with a classic Jeep CJ that leveraged an eCrate motor for propulsion – that’s it below. Called the CJ Surge, it used a 400-volt system with a 200-watt motor and a 50 kWh battery. It would make sense for Mopar to show up with a similar setup for the GTX in this new teaser. No doubt, some classic car lovers will want a way to modernize their powertrains and an eCrate motor could be one solution.

It’s also worth noting that this could be another way to capture musclecar guys disaffected by the swing to futuristically-shaped electric cars – cars that do little to push said guys’ macho-muscle-machine buttons, even if the EVs do post power, torque, and 0-60 numbers that crush classic iron. The adoption of the new Charger Daytona EV hasn’t been as widespread and smooth as Dodge likely hoped, and showing fans that even classic muscle cars could benefit from electrification might help sway the crowd a bit.

Dodge will likely reveal everything sometime around Tuesday, November 5, when the SEMA show opens its doors at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and there’s more to look at from the Stellantis group. There will also be at least one big, burly RAM concept that the brand touts as a “beastly full-size concept.” That’s the Chapter 1 mentioned earlier. “Workhorse and Warrior” is what Mopar calls it. Based on the image below, it very well could be a 2500. We look forward to the reveal unless it for whatever reason ends up dropping out again.