Goonzquad’s HELLCAT-Powered Pacifica Is Perfection
YouTubers Complete Their Build And Its Awesome
For years, the phrase “Chrysler Pacifica HELLCAT when?” has floated around Mopar circles as a punchline. It was something you’d see in YouTube comments, hear joked about at car shows, or tossed around on forums whenever Dodge or Chrysler debuted something new. Most of us laughed and moved on. Nobody ever expected it actually to happen—nobody except Goonzquad.
What makes this story even better is how quickly it all came together. We only recently talked about Goonzquad taking that long-running Mopar joke seriously and actually building a HELLCAT-powered Pacifica. Now the project is officially complete.
They bought a flood-damaged 2021 Chrysler Pacifica and paired it with a wrecked Dodge Challenger SRT HELLCAT Redeye donor car. From there, the real work began. This isn’t a body swap or a costume build. Underneath, it is still very much a Pacifica that has been surgically re-engineered to house a supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI® HELLCAT V8 and send all that power to the rear wheels.
The Pacificat required extensive fabrication and problem-solving that most projects never get into. Steering geometry had to be rethought. Suspension components needed custom solutions. Alignment issues, ride height concerns, and bump steer showed up early during testing—exactly what you’d expect from a first-of-its-kind prototype. Instead of hiding those challenges, Goonzquad documented them, addressed them, and kept pushing forward.
Once the van was fully unlocked and out of valet mode, everything changed. With roughly 800 horsepower on tap, the Pacificat stopped being a novelty and became something genuinely outrageous. Burnouts came easily. The engine bounced off the rev limiter with ease. Watching a minivan squat, spin the rear tires, and rip down the road rewires your expectations of what a family hauler is supposed to be.
Visually, the Pacificat leans into its absurdity in the best way possible. A widebody kit transforms the Pacifica’s proportions, while custom front-end modifications improve airflow and cooling. Upgraded headlights, revised grille treatments, and aggressive wheel-and-tire combinations give the van a stance that feels more like a muscle car than a minivan. Demon-style wheels handle street duty, while beadlock setups are waiting for more serious abuse. A rear wing seals the deal, pushing the look firmly into “Chrysler should’ve done this” territory.
Inside, the team resisted the urge to overcomplicate things. A factory-style Dodge Charger shifter was adapted to control the transmission properly, keeping the interior clean and functional. Cooling systems were revised to address early heat issues, and despite the powertrain swap, the van still behaves like a Pacifica where it matters. You can load people inside, drive it on the street, and actually use it—just with supercar-level power lurking under the hood.
One of the most telling moments in the build came when Goonzquad themselves admitted what many of us were thinking: Dodge and Chrysler missed an opportunity. In an era where 700-plus-horsepower SUVs are normal, and performance family vehicles dominate the market, a limited-production HELLCAT-powered minivan suddenly doesn’t sound impossible. It wouldn’t be cheap, but judging by the reaction to the Pacificat, it wouldn’t sit on dealer lots either.
The Pacificat isn’t perfect, and it was never meant to be. Goonzquad has been upfront that this is a prototype, with further suspension refinement planned alongside their fabrication partners. Even more interesting is the discussion of building another one, applying lessons learned, and improving the formula. Whether that ever turns into a small, numbered run or remains a one-off experiment, the fact that it’s even being discussed says everything.
At its core, the Pacificat represents what modern car culture does best. It takes an internet joke, adds real engineering, real money, real risk, and real creativity, and turns it into something tangible. Chrysler may never build a HELLCAT Pacifica—but thanks to Goonzquad, we now know exactly what one looks like, sounds like, and feels like when it lights up the rear tires.
HELLCAT-Powered Chrysler Pacifica “Pacificat”:
