Between now and Sunday, October 27, 2024, you can bid on and possibly own a real piece of racing history – and the current bid is a paltry $1,350 USD on HiBid.com as we updated this post today on Tuesday, October 22, 2024. Despite its admittedly rather rough present condition, our hearts skipped a beat when we learned of this car’s existence and its current availability. Fitted with wide-body modifications and a full competition treatment for hard use as a pace car heading fields of 200+ mph Indy cars, it sports a menacing 1980s IMSA-style presence and while it has definitely seen better days, it’s not hard to imagine what it would look like with a good restoration.
Built for PPG Industries as one of several Official Pace Cars for the 1981 CART Indy Car World Series, this wild warrior began its life as a Dodge Omni 024 Charger 2.2 for 1981 – the first model year for the resurrection of the Charger nameplate, used for the $399 Charger 2.2 option package on the Dodge Omni 024 hatchback, which included some racy styling cues and graphics, plus a low-restriction, straight-pipe exhaust bringing total horsepower up to 84 ponies, plus a shorter 3.56:1 final-drive ratio that raised the fun factor in concert with a 4-speed manual transmission and the abundant traction of front-wheel drive.
While Chrysler was definitely on the leading edge of producing fuel-sipping K-Cars with advanced front-wheel drivetrains, the company’s engineers and product planners were masters at developing fun and sporty driving machines – a trait that many auto enthusiasts are sadly only coming to recognize today. As Motor Trend magazine’s Rich Ceppos enthused back in his 1981 test drive of a Charger 2.2, “It will suck the headlights out of a Scirocco in a stoplight drag-off. It’ll stay glued to an Audi’s rear bumper through your favorite esses—and will feel good doing it.”
According to the HiBid auction listing, “…most of the bodywork on the Omni is custom-built for better aerodynamics. The front grille has been enclosed and the headlights covered. A custom lower air dam and side skirts bring the car closer to the pavement. The body has also been widened and a tall wing added to the rear. It appears the rear hatch is no longer operational, as the body lines are not there – probably sealed shut since fuel doors were added on top. The car sits on early Gotti wheels. Dual exhaust pokes out of the custom rear valence, right below the “Turbo” badge.” Under the Current Status heading, “The PPG Omni 024/Charger 2.2 Pace Car was spotted sitting outside at a residential property and in need of a restoration.” As listed for auction, the car is located in Hermiston, OR 97838, and is offered by Columbia River Auction LLC (541-571-5771).
The auction company replied to our request for additional information, and they advise that the Omni Pace Car does start but does not keep running and the engine does retain the original turbocharger. It is offered on a bill of sale only and includes the fire suppression system and roll bars from its pace car days. It is believed that all four wheels – they appear to be early 1980s Gotti brand items – are also original to the PPG Pace Car build.
This Charger 2.2 and a selection of other inaugural PPG Pace Cars graced the cover of Hot Rod magazine back in August 1981 with their wild colors and advanced engineering and construction. Most importantly, the visionaries at PPG and CART rightly viewed the Pace Car program as a tangible expression of the potential of the new crop of American-designed-and-built front-drive models with smaller 4- and 6-cylinder powerplants and turbocharging. Suspension and aerodynamic upgrades were part of the package, and this program served as a wonderful precursor to the tuner cars of the 1990s and beyond in their race-inspired concept and execution. A website in tribute to the PPG Pace Car program, which continued through most of the 1990s, is more than worth bookmarking and reviewing by any true-blue auto enthusiast. Be sure to visit www.ppgpacecars.com and you’ll be glad you did. I certainly will!
According to the publisher of www.ppgpacecars.com, Bill Behlman supplied the period images.
You may be the winning bidder and bring this cool custom-built 1981 Dodge Omni 024 Charger 2.2. PPG/CART Pace Car back to its original glory. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be long and hard, but we hope it will happen sooner than later. If you are that brave soul, please contact us and bring us up to speed on it as you are able.
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