YOU wouldn’t guess it, but Swedish car culture is massive. Drag racing is surprisingly popular, and Swedish teams have been competing in events like Hot Rod Drag Week for years now. And while the Swedes usually race European cars stuffed with American grunt, there’s no denying the universal attraction of the American muscle legends.

Johan Eriksson runs a small custom car shop in central Sweden, and over the past decade he has been working to turn an iconic ’68 Dodge Charger into a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, the Charger RT/R. The idea was to mix Hot Wheels-esque looks with a super-modern take on an iconic muscle car, with extreme performance.

For starters, the body has been heavily customised to emphasise the fat stance and massive custom billet wheels. According to Johan, almost every part of the car has been massaged, broadened, cropped, tilted, sectioned, or modified in another way. Underneath it runs a custom chassis, with bespoke independent airbagged suspension all ’round. Brakes are a blend of monstrous Bentley 420mm carbon-ceramic discs with eight-piston calipers up front and Corvette ZR1 units at the rear.

Under the bonnet is a beautifully detailed Viper V10 engine boosted by a pair of BorgWarner turbos. It’s built for big power too, running Callies rods, custom JE pistons, T&D roller rockers, LSM cam and Manley valve springs. It’s backed up by a six-speed Tremec manual gearbox.

Inside, the Charger RT/R has been completely customised, with virtually zero original Charger remaining. All of the aluminium details have been milled out of around 6500lb of raw materials, and the rollcage has been hand-stitched in leather. Johan and his team have even managed to incorporate a banging stereo system without making it look like an early 2000s Auto Salon car.

Check out the video, as the guys from FullBoost chat with Johan about this insane build at SEMA.