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US Air Force modifies muscle cars for total ground superiority

Not many people know this, but when the US Air Force isn't raining hellfire on Iraqi villages or inspiring Tom Cruise movies, it's modifying muscle cars to attract young, impressionable recruits

Rory Reid
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Not many people know this, but when the US Air Force isn't raining hellfire on small Iraqi villages or inspiring Tom Cruise movies, it's modifying muscle cars to attract young, impressionable recruits.

The cars in our photo gallery above are based on what used to be ordinary Ford Mustangs and Dodge Challengers. The black one -- which looks as if it could murder Kitt just for being in the same line of traffic -- is known as the Challenger Vapor. It's been finished in a radar-absorbing stealth-black paint, and has a 'stealth exhaust', so there's very little chance insurgents can shoot it out of the sky.

Outside, USAF has bolted on a 360-degree rotating camera with a quarter-mile visual range, vertical doors and a fingerprint-scanning biometric entry-system. Inside, you get a full-on cockpit with twin yokes, a centre-mounted throttle and a windscreen coated in a special film that provides night and thermal vision. You even get a couple of helmets, nitrous oxide and rockets in the boot, for goodness' sake.

The second modified car is the seven-shades-of-bonkers X-1 Mustang. This bad boy features a concealed motorised steering wheel controlled by a joystick. As if that wasn't crazy enough, they've also fitted a touchscreen monitor and a sensor pack that displays night and thermal vision. There's even a bloody ejector seat -- presumably so you can exit via the roof when you've hemmed yourself into a tight parking space.

Both cars were co-developed by Galpin Auto Sports, the official garage of MTV's Pimp My Ride. You can get a closer look and more deets by browing our photo gallery above.

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The Challenger Vapor gets a biometric fingerprint scanner and vertically-opening doors.
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It's finished in anti-radar stealth paint, which has a gorgeous matte finish.
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Nitrous oxide means you can get a quiet boost of power without necessarily having to floor the go-pedal. Rockets mean people won't beep you when you cut them off.
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You get a throttle instead of a gear lever, although we're not sure if this controls the vehicle's acceleration as it does in real aircraft.
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The cockpit comes with a yoke for you and your passenger, and the windscreen has night and thermal vision capabilities courtesy of a special film.
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The Mustang X-1 also has vertical doors.
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The helmet is entirely optional, but we reckon you'd look pretty, er, cool pulling up in a Tesco's car park wearing this. Yeah, go ahead, put it on.
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The X-1 is a single-seater. It also converts into a zero-seater if you accidentally hit the eject button.
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These screens show you the road ahead in night and thermal vision.
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The ejector seat is frankly a genius addition. We don't recommend using it, though -- you probably wouldn't catch enough air for the parachute to deploy properly.

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