When Victory Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Ottawa, Kansas, finally got its missing Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Jailbreak back, it wasn’t exactly a reunion worth celebrating. The car looked more like a project shell than a six-figure performance machine. What thieves didn’t take, they left in shambles.

Back in mid-June, suspects used another vehicle as a battering ram, smashing through the showroom glass at the dealership on East 23rd Street.

They made off with the 807-horsepower Challenger and led police on a high-speed chase into Johnson County

Wellsville officers eventually cut the pursuit off as the car fled toward Kansas City, Missouri. 

Weeks later, Ottawa police said the car had been recovered. But when it returned, dealership staff realized just how thoroughly it had been stripped.

“Engine gone, transmission gone, airbags gone…”

Nathan Lauck, who helps run the dealership, explained that the car’s engine, transmission, fuel tank, seats, dash, carpet, and even most of its fuses were missing. The work looked surgical, not sloppy.

Lauck said the job was professional, with clean cuts and no frayed wiring. The only thing thieves kindly left behind, staff joked in a Facebook reel, was the fuse box…complete with four fuses.

Insurance will cover much of the loss, Lauck said, but not before the dealership eats a hefty deductible and pays for the showroom doors and windows damaged in the heist.

He estimated the ordeal will still cost tens of thousands of dollars and could push their premiums higher. A 23-year-old woman has been charged in connection with the theft, KSNT shared.

The sting hits harder when you consider what the dealership lost.

The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Jailbreak is the wildest version of the already outrageous Challenger lineup

It makes 807 horsepower and pairs that with Brembo brakes, adaptive suspension, widebody styling, and endless customization options.

Dodge priced the Jailbreak around $90,000 to $95,000, depending on spec, but dealer markups and collector demand often pushed transaction prices well past $100,000. After all, Stellantis stopped making the Challenger in 2023.

Victory Dodge’s stripped Challenger shell won’t see that kind of money again. In their Facebook post, staff leaned on humor, quipping that the car was still for sale, at a fraction of MSRP. Hey, someone might need a parts car.