The Wraith – The Car’s The Star

Back in the ’80s, Charlie Sheen was, in a time way before ‘WINNING’ and ‘tiger blood’, something of a big deal in Hollywood. He got some juicy roles, too. But as good and as popular as he was, not every film he made went into the mainstream history books. Some ended up being more of a cult classic rather than a best seller. Films like 1986’s The Wraith. We won’t spoil the ‘plot’ for you, but in a nutshell, Charlie plays Jake, who looks like a nice, normal lad, but is in fact some sort of amalgamation of lost spirits seeking vengeance after their untimely deaths. A wraith, you might say… oh, THAT’S THE TITLE OF THE MOVIE. Clever. There’s also something to do with a gang who lure people into street races so they can steal cars and their kill owners, or something. This isn’t Empire magazine. Put it this way, it’s not exactly a masterclass in movie writing.

So why, then, are we tippy tappying these words about an ostensibly crap movie? Because of  the car, obviously. An unlikely saviour for the film, a machine that had it not been on screen would have been largely forgotten. A car that, via just four cylinders, could bang forcefully on the door of 200mph. The Dodge M4S. This car is why the film is worth watching, because it’s spectacular, and while there is indeed a fantasy element, the Dodge M4S in The Wraith was in fact a real car. Not just a pretty visual for Sheen to slide in and out of.

Okay, full disclosure. You’re looking at the M4S and you know you haven’t ever seen one on the street. Yes, it was a real car, but it was only ever a prototype. By real, we mean it functioned, it had the specification engineers promised and it was in that sense, the real deal. It had to be, as Dodge initially planned to use it as a pace car. Instead though, it became a movie star. But what was it?

Designed and created by Dodge in 1981, the M4S was a display of what the company could do and was penned by Bob Ackerman, and the name reflected that, with M4S meaning ‘mid -engine, four-cylinder, sport).

Due to the pace car dreams, the car had to be a driver. In the end though, it wasn’t a Dodge only production. The semi monocoque race chassis was fabricated by Huffaker in California while 3-D Industries of Madison Heights, Michigan modelled the body and created moulds. Special Projects, Inc. of Plymouth, Michigan cast the body panels and also took responsibility for the interior and that fantastic shade of metallic brown. The whole thing was fastidiously screwed together by Specialized Vehicles. As for the engine, the important bits came from England. Dodge supplied the base 2,198cc four-cylinder, but it was Cosworth that created the 16-valve cylinder head, complete with twin camshafts and not one but two Garrett T25 turbos. The result was 440bhp, 0-60 in 4.1s and a verified top speed of 194.8mph. Yeah, it was… nippy. But then, with that slick 0.23 drag coefficient and all that power, how could it not be?

Ironically, though, the M4S used in The Wraith was just a copy. Or six copies to be precise. Two ran and drove, but were all looks – they were used for stunts. The other four were merely dummies and were destroyed during production (the Wraith’s whole thing was being able to regenerate, not unlike Christine). Production did, however, use the real car for close-ups and beauty shots. We don’t know what those two stunt cars were running, but apparently they stunned the stunt drivers who simply weren’t prepared for the grunt available. As for the real car, it ended up in a museum until 2016, and is now in private hands… somewhere.

Charlie Sheen with one of the screen used cars – Credit to Jay Leno’s Garage

The Wraith was not, even by his own admission, Charlie Sheen’s greatest work. It holds a less than giddy 5.9 out of 10 on IMdB. But none of that matters if you’re into your cars. This movie might not have been Oscar bait, but it was good old, brain-off fun. It didn’t take itself too seriously. There is some great car content to be enjoyed and it’s delightfully of its time. But, more importantly, it put the Dodge M4S on the map. This car would have been all but forgotten had it only ever seen pace car duties at Indy Car races. The movie brought it to the masses, it inspired people, it excited people and as such, became the biggest star of the film. You should watch it, but for the car, because the rest of it is, well, you’ll see…