Mopar, Magneti Marelli Partnership Takes Center Stage on Matt Hagan’s Dodge Charger Funny Car With Don Schumacher Racing in 2013

Auburn Hills, MI – Mopar’s aftermarket partner, Magneti Marelli is expanding its relationship with Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer care brand, as well as its involvement in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing series. The international automotive parts supplier will partner with Mopar as primary sponsors of Don Schumacher Racing’s Dodge Charger R/T driven by Matt Hagan for multiple races during the 2013 season.

Race fans will notice a fresh new look to Hagan’s Funny Car starting this weekend at the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., as a ‘Magneti Marelli Quality Auto Parts Offered by Mopar’ primary paint scheme will be highlighted on the Dodge Charger R/T entry. The same scheme will soon be displayed on the team’s transporter, as well as driver and crew uniforms.

“2013 is a very important year for us to educate the aftermarket world that Magneti Marelli stands for Quality Automotive Parts for All Vehicle Makes and we are very proud to partner with Don Schumacher Racing and Matt Hagan to build that awareness,” says Pietro Berardi, Magneti Marelli CEO of Global Aftermarket, about the partnership expansion. “It’s a perfect match since Magneti Marelli has a long history of motorsports involvement and we are excited to expand our reach within the NHRA racing. We are looking forward to a successful season with Matt Hagan as well as Allen Johnson who we also sponsor.”

“We are excited to continue and expand our relationship with Matt Hagan and Don Schumacher Racing by including our partnership with Magneti Marelli and continue to raise awareness for our brands and quality products,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “Along with our Mopar fans, we look forward to watching and supporting Matt and his hard-working team as they compete for another championship. The extension of our partnership with Magneti Marelli to include this primary sponsorship bolsters our collective commitment and support of NHRA drag racing.”

Mopar’s involvement with the NHRA originated in the 1950s with legendary racer Don Garlits, and includes a long-standing relationship with Don Schumacher and his team that began in 1970. Magneti Marelli’s history is steeped in racing tradition as well, having been involved in Formula 1 since 1950, as well as World Rally Championship and most recently the American Le Mans Series with the Chrysler Group’s SRT Viper program. Both brands’ involvement in motorsports has provided not only sponsorship, but a supply of high-performance parts and advanced technologies.

Mopar and Magneti Marelli’s racing alliance began at the start of last season with the associate sponsorship of the Don Schumacher Racing team and that of 2012 Pro Stock Champion Allen Johnson. After exploring the opportunity to be more closely involved with Mopar in NHRA, the choice to increase Magneti Marelli’s participation and promote both brands’ passion for racing and quality parts was an easy one to make.

The two brands partnered in April 2011, combining Mopar’s 75 years of U.S. automotive parts and service prowess with Magneti Marelli’s 93 years of international automotive parts experience to create an automotive parts giant that provides quality parts for all makes and models of vehicles nearly as quickly as one of Matt Hagan’s final elimination runs on the drag strip.

The partnership and launch of the “All Makes” parts program for the North American aftermarket gave the Chrysler Group dealership network and its customers the ability to service competitive make and model vehicles with high-quality parts at an exceptional value, creating one-stop service and parts shops for customers.

Since its introduction, the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” program has grown to encompass more than 30 product lines and in excess of 2,000 part numbers, including top-selling maintenance products such as filters and brake components. Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar product lines also feature electrical products, exhaust products, window motors and assemblies, wheel bearings and hubs, water pumps and timing belts, remanufactured starters and alternators, chassis and suspension components as well as air conditioning components.