Small children and pets run...
Small children and pets run for cover when pulling up to the rear of this Dodge. As if the paint wasn’t intimidating enough, the stance is high enough to show the trick Mag-Hytec differential covers. These attract any metal particles to the edges and keep them from grenading the rearend.
When Steve Lyons acquired his loaded ’07 Dodge Laramie SLT, the first thing he did was go straight to 4Wheel Parts in Broomfield, Colorado, and have it skyjacked. Then he drove straight across town to Performance Wheel and Tire and had the rubber and rims fitted. After that, he waited a while before having Motorsport Concepts apply the wicked airbrush job. Then he had the engine upgrades sorted as the last step to completing his daily driver, which, by the way, is also used to haul his 26-foot Daytona boat or his hunting trailer, depending on the season. Sounds like a straightforward enough story, right?
Wrong. The macabre images inherent throughout the paint scheme are a direct result of Steve’s near-death experience on his motorcycle. We all know that two-wheeled wonders can be a dangerous form of transport/entertainment, but many of us still choose to sail on the cycle. The wind in your hair, and a steed between your legs that responds to the flick of a wrist is a hard thing to resist, especially with the price of diesel going through the roof. Then, Steve recalls, “some guy pulled out in front of me. I swerved and laid the bike down for 70 yards to avoid the collision.”
Steve was badly injured, but survived, and true to form, rehabbed the bike and his truck. Now they both sport the same paint job, coined by him as “Tatted Death.” Look closely at the airbrush innuendos by Pedro from Motorsport Concepts, a major player in custom paint from Colorado, and you will see a variety of themes alongside the glowering skulls. For example, ink pens and dice. If you can’t dangle them from the mirror of your bone-stock interior, then paint ’em on the side, right?
Steve says of the paint scheme: “I like tats, and I like to go to Vegas. I consider myself a high-roller. I practically live there. In fact, I should have bought a lottery ticket that day.”
 Steve installed the Superchip...  Steve installed the Superchip on his engine. Thanks to that, and the better breathing abilities acquired from the AFE cold-air intake and the 5-inch exhaust, the Dodge is estimated at 500-plus hp. |  The hoops are 22-inch Rozzis....  The hoops are 22-inch Rozzis. These industrial-looking 12-spoke rims match up to the exterior’s theme of “deadly gambling/high-roller,” especially when wrapped with the 37x12.5-R22 Toyo meats. |  The stance is elevated to...  The stance is elevated to that of high-roller thanks to a 6-inch Rancho lift kit and Bilstein shocks. Retractable running boards from AMP Research help make entry and exit easier. |
While the exterior is thoroughly upgraded, the cabin is surprisingly stock, devoid of dice, ink pens, or skulls. Well there is one example of a human appendage—a bone, as in bone-stock.