It was 1998 and an opportunity came for the Performance West Group (Vista, CA) to do a project with the ol’ snake charmer himself, Carroll Shelby. It revolved around the new Dodge Durango Sport Utility Vehicle, and it included more powerful engine, better handling, body enhancements and interior upgrades. All that but the big thing was, it was a Shelby Dodge and it had “the look!”
Here’s how the man himself described it: “Performance West proposed to build a vehicle the way I would want it. I’ve never had my name on a vehicle that I didn’t enjoy myself.” Besides being a fan of SUVs he was also a partner in a Dodge dealership located in the San Fernando Valley, Murphy Shelby Dodge, so this arrangement made perfect sense. He added this: “I like to sit up where I can see. I am a nut for these sport utility vehicles. You can haul things or people in them, a sport utility gives you a lot more.”
The Durango had an available 360-cid “Magnum” 360 pushrod V8, and that was the ideal match for the Kenne Bell “Blowzilla” AutoRotor supercharger system. Fuel and spark management was controlled by a Kenne Bell Optimizer computer, and induction was further enhanced with the use of a free-flowing AirForce Air Induction system to supply intake to the supercharger, which was positioned off-set to the passenger’s side of the intake manifold.
Exhaust improvements came from a pair of tuned “Extractor” tubular headers which flowed into 2.5-inch dual exhaust system, featuring 3.5-inch chromed exhaust tips. Great sounds and free-flowing, low restriction overall design. With six pounds of boost, the powerplant cranked out one horsepower per cubic inch. Respectable and reliable.
Lowering a 4WD vehicle wasn’t a problem, thanks to the engineering of the DJM Suspension system, which dropped both front and rear by 3 inches. Calibrated length IAS shocks from Edelbrock completed the suspension upgrades. Wheel and tire changes to give the rig an aggressive appearance as well as better cornering performance came as a result a set of 18 x 8-inch SEC Daytona wheels, complete with chromed inserts, with Goodyear Eagle F1GS 295/45/ZR18 front and rear.
Race Truck Trends came in with an exterior styling kit, twin-intake fiberglass hood, front and rear custom fascias, wheel flares and aero side skirts. Up front a pair of IPF J-01 Driving Lights, custom lower grilles and custom Viper Blue from PPG. The SUV especially with the traditional white Shelby stripes for sure make this Durango standout from the other stockers in any parking lot!
Interior upgrades include Cerullo custom leather seating (complete with embroidered Carroll Shelby signatures), Wolf center console plus carbon fiber trim pieces. The ICE (in car entertainment) consisted of Clarion head unit featuring SRS Labs 3D Audio System. Cutting-edge at the time, there was a Rosen 5.6-inch LCD monitor with remote wireless headset.
The Shelby Durango was taken to the track and ran a 14.5-second run down the 13- and measured 6.7-seconds going from a standing start to 60 mph. Depending on specific options and upgrades, they sold for between $43K and $55K and were built in very limited numbers…adding to the current collectability factor. From time to time examples pop-up online for sale, all the while many enthusiasts never knew they existed.
