The basic machine remained unchanged; fully 32 feet in length, it is just 36 inches wide and 37 inches high at the canopy. Its 4130 chrome-moly steel tube chassis is cloaked in 68 lightweight hand-formed aluminum panels affixed by Dzus fasteners, yet it stills weighs in at a mighty 5,800 pounds.
Beneath the repainted aluminum envelope, Danny and his team executed a plethora of upgrades. The two Ford 427 SOHC engines that originally powered the car were replaced with twin Brad Anderson 500 CI dry-block, A-fuel-type Hemi V-8 engines, each driving one set of wheels and running on a brew of 87% nitromethane and 13% methanol through Accufab throttle bodies, more than doubling the original output from a combined 1,800 HP to 5,000 HP. Twin 3-speed gear boxes connect the engines through two Top Fuel triple-disk clutches, two B&J Big Boy 3-speed transmissions, two Hadley Box belt-drive engine connectors and two specially manufactured extreme heavy-duty magnesium quick-change differentials.
Suspension design is by Kar Kraft with a one-off set of ultrahigh speed shock absorbers from King, while the rolling stock is a combination of SK Specialties billet 2024-T351 aluminum wheels fitted with Mickey Thompson Bonneville LSR tires with 1/32-inch rubber/prototype nylon weave/banded steel reinforcements to withstand the tremendous centrifugal loads of 400-plus MPH speeds. New engine mounts, cockpit driver controls, fresh air tanks, steering-wheel-mounted air shifters and a three-bottle fire suppression system were added along with a new steering system. Four carbon-ceramic disc brakes and dual 400 MPH-rated parachutes with 4-foot blossoms ensure safe, sure stops.
On August 12, 2018, Danny Thompson drove the resurrected Challenger 2 to a new SCTA AA/Fuel Streamliner record of 448.757 MPH, vindicating his father’s faith in the streamliner and closing the circle on a 50-year quest to return the Thompson family name to the top of the Bonneville record books.