Every November, the SEMA Show in Las Vegas serves as a mecca for all things automotive. Restoration shops and aftermarket parts manufacturers use the SEMA Show as an opportunity to unveil their latest projects, often in the form of a custom car parked in their booth. Suspension manufacturer Heidts teamed up with Steve Strope of Pure Vision Design to create this incredible 1970 Road Runner. The project was dubbed Haraka, which means "speed" in Swahili.
The Haraka Road Runner Project
As is often the case for SEMA builds, Haraka started as a series of concept sketches by artist Eric Brockmeyer. It features vivid purple paint, glossy chrome trim, deep-dish gold mesh wheels, and a luxurious custom leather interior.
As fans of the Road Runner in its stock form, we appreciate that Pure Vision and Heidts maintained most of the original exterior appearance of this timeless muscle car. Strope told Hot Rod Magazine, "The exterior of the car is still ’70 Road Runner. The only things we did at all that any Road Runner guy might do, we borrowed some GTX trim and [passed the exhaust tips through] the rear bumper."
Even the purple color feels fitting for a '70s Mopar car — especially one that was originally painted In-Violet (a.k.a. Plum Crazy on Dodge cars) — but it's actually a custom-mixed hue they called Inkwell Violet.
The Road Runner sits on a complete Heidts independent front and rear suspension system. Yes, you heard that right — it's equipped with IRS, a feature that will make this Mopar muscle car more capable for carving corners in full pro touring style.
Above: This photo from Hot Rod Magazine shows Heidts' new Mopar B-body IRS system. It will be available for both Dodge and Plymouth applications.
Wilwood big brakes and HRE wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport tires complete the setup. Under the hood, there's a 440ci V8 bored and stroked to 494ci and upgraded with parts from Edelbrock, MSD, and Billet Specialties. The transmission is a Tremec TKX 5-speed manual.
The interior might just be our favorite part of this build. The dash is based on one transplanted from a 1966 Plymouth Fury II, featuring a large Dakota Digital cluster and custom controls for the Vintage Air A/C system.
Another unique element is the intricate floral pattern on the seat upholstery, which was based on a shirt from NYC fashion designer Robert Graham. The pattern was applied to the Italian leather on the seats, as well as laser-etched onto the chrome body side moldings that run down the doors and front fenders. It feels vaguely reminiscent of the Mod Top vinyl option Dodge and Plymouth offered in 1969-70 — styling cues really do come full-circle after a few decades.
Street Cars 101 Magazine summarized this build beautifully: "The 1970 Plymouth Road Runner was born as a stripped-down street fighter, a blue-collar hero for the working man. Fifty-five years later, Haraka honors that heritage."
Learn more about Heidts' new Mopar B-body IFS and IRS by watching the video below:
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