Smaller trucks are starting to become a lot more popular and brands like Ford and Hyundai are jumping into the market. Though before either the Maverick or the Santa Cruz came along, the Dodge Dakota was a popular small truck and it still has a loyal following. One of its biggest fans has modernized his personal Dakota by dropping in a bunch of gear from Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat including the powertrain.
That extra gear comes in the form of the Hellcat hood, the Hellcat mufflers, the dash, the steering wheel, and even the infotainment system. Other Dodge products have been frankensteined into the build as well. The wheels and gigantic front Brembo brakes are both from a Dodge Viper so the wheels feature SRT branding and the brakes don’t trip warning lights on the dash.
A quick look at the interior could fool some folks into thinking that this was some sort of production vehicle, the panels are that well put together. Outside of the truck, the headlights are aftermarket but not overly gaudy either. Small Hellcat badges just behind the front bumper on each fender are the only exterior accents that signal others about the power under the hood.
In the complete video from BoostedMotorsports we get to see the truck in action as it drives around town without issue. Of course, being a project car that’s still not complete, there are some things that need to be addressed. The speedometer still doesn’t work which is a result of the mishmash of parts.
For the dash to show speed it needs to read an ABS signal but this Dakota didn’t come with ABS in the hubs. Despite the imperfections, this truck runs just as well as it sounds and the owner treats us to a few full-throttle moments.
Thanks to some sticky Toyo tires it doesn’t seem like managing the supercharged V8 is too difficult despite the fact that there’s very little weight over that rear axle. We have seen a lot of cool builds before and many with Hellcat motors but it’s rare to see one this clean that isn’t a big-budget affair.
Keyword: This Hellcat Swapped Dodge Dakota Is One Of The Cleanest We’ve Seen