Who makes an American -V8 powered 4x4/ All wheel drive CAR ?

[89MOPAR]

  Went to go see a rally last weekend a couple of hours from where i live . As in dirt roads / logging roads / 4 wheel drifts / gravel flying / etc. 
   www.olympusrally.com
Was mostly Subaru WRX's , Some Mitsubishi EVO's , VW's ,Neons,  Ford focus, an old Volvo etc.
  They have a few different classes, including an "open" class , "production" class, 2wheel drive, etc.- must be a car though and not a truck.

  I've seen a few other rallys and while the turbo cars are cool and impressive, there was no big V8 bellowing in the woods.

Can anyone think of a factory built V8 powered  AWD / 4x4  American Car [ not truck, not SUV] ?
 
  I can't think of any offhand.  Except maybe the AMC Eagle, but nearly all those were 6 cylinders....and the Jenson Interceptor Ferguson four wheel drive version.
   Thanks.   Just some idle daydreaming here....

[moparguy01]

By the time American auto makers got into awe most everything was 4 and 6 cylinders. Eagles never came with a factory v8, just 4 and 6 cyl. I can't think of 1 v8 awd American car.

[Ponch ®]

Can anyone think of a factory built V8 powered  AWD / 4x4  American Car [ not truck, not SUV] ?
 
 

You can get a hemi powered AWD 300/Magnum/Charger....but i don't know how they'd do in a rally.

[Mike DC]

 

You can get a hemi powered AWD 300/Magnum/Charger....but i don't know how they'd do in a rally.

Tear off about 1000 pounds of curb weight & about 20 inches of wheelbase, and it would probably do fine. 

[mauve66]

start with the navigation, leather seats, stereo, sound deadner, airbags, bet we're over 1000 right there....................

[bull]

You don't need AWD to compete with AWD cars if you're a good driver. Bill Caswell, whose story Ponch linked recently, used an old 2WD BMW and did very well against the big shots.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,68147.msg765149.html#msg765149

[89MOPAR]

  true Bull true.  Of course i think i'm a better driver than 90% of the population... but so does everyone else think They are a great driver.
  Probably a few stages into a rally , and crashed in a ditch or upside down, i wouldn't be so confident     

  Plus 6cyl/ 4cyl BMW does not light my fire.  One of the VW Rabbit/ Golfs was Very Quick though !!

I guess i thought the magnum/300/charger style were 6cyl only with the AWD.  Good idea, but wide. long, heavy as mentioned, still expensive, and probably not cheap to fix, nor cheap parts.

  May get the sports car paid off this year, and while its a sick ride on the street + pavement, really a beast , and i did a fair amount of the build,  it'll never be a dirt car.

Figuring if i try to have a go at rally, i want something that is different, sounds like a saw ripping thru a chain link fence, and sends chipmunks and spectators scurrying when they hear it approaching     -- which of course would leave me broke $$, frustrated, and quickly reaching limits of engineering know-how.   But Damn those type cars and races are Cool !

[bull]

There's always the Neon. Just think how much respect you'd earn if you won a race in one of those.

[six-tee-nine]

You don't need AWD to compete with AWD cars if you're a good driver. Bill Caswell, whose story Ponch linked recently, used an old 2WD BMW and did very well against the big shots.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,68147.msg765149.html#msg765149

You know bull, thats what all car manufacturers said back in the late 70's when Audi went to the rally scene with their Quattro. As we all know they were proven wrong, since the Audi Quattro totally changed the world of rallying (by winning it's first race with 9 minutes to the car in 2nd place).

To go on topic.....

I don't know but the only thing I can imagine that comes close to that was the Audi S4 (B6 model).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73dP_-GKv-w   

[mauve66]

when in germany i saw some twin engine AWD suzuki swifts doing ralleys, they had one on a pikes peak hill climb in colorado one year also
i know its not american but i had a regular one and 8K redline really sings

[200MPH]

also i think pontiac had a  4 door sedan v-8 awd  G-8 or something gto i don't know 

[89MOPAR]

 Thanks guys for your suggestions and alternatives  

I actually met 2 Chrysler engineers at the Shelton Rally the first year that the NEon SRT-4 was brought out. 2003 I believe.  They had a factory sponsored Neon, painted red with the PVO stickers on it [ performance vehicle ops -- which they soon channged to SVO - special vehicle ops- which then changed to the current SRT ]    Talked with them for awhile at the "parc expose", about Mopars, building a manual transmission for the new Hemi motor [ dude said he'd need $3million to develop it IIRC]  , etc.
 They did pretty well i believe.  Neon would be decent even today.
I'd be happy to compete and complete.  Winning is not an issue i'd worry about.