Dodge Charger Daytona
Encyclopedia
Dodge
, an American
automobile
brand
, has produced three separate vehicles with the name Dodge Charger Daytona, all of which were modified Dodge Charger
s. The name is taken from Daytona Beach, Florida
, which was an early center for auto racing and still hosts the Daytona 500
, one of NASCAR
's premier events. The first use of the Daytona name on a car was on a version of the Studebaker Lark
. The Daytona was the performance model of the compact Lark and it was produced from 1963-1966.
produced in the summer of 1969 for the sole purpose of winning NASCAR
races. And win it did: it won its first race out, the inaugural Talladega 500 in the fall, and helped Bobby Isaac
capture the 1970 Grand National championship, although he didn't win any races in the Daytona in 1970. Buddy Baker in the #88 Chrysler Engineering Dodge Charger Daytona was the first driver in NASCAR history to break the 200 mph mark on March 24, 1970 at Talladega.
One of the famous aero-cars
, its special body modifications included a 23 in (584 mm) tall stabilizer wing on the rear deck, a special sheetmetal "nose cone" that replaced the traditional upright front grille (these weren't made by NASA Chrysler did all of its own wind tunnel testing), a flush rear backlight (rear window area), a 'window cap' to cover the original Charger's recessed rear window, specific front fenders and hood that were modeled after the upcoming 1970 Charger, stainless steel A-pillar covers and fender mounted tire clearance/brake cooling scoops. The Daytona was built on the 1969 Charger's 500 trim specifications, meaning that it carried a heavy-duty suspension and brake setup and was equipped with a 440 CID Magnum engine as standard. Of special note to collectors is the optional 426 CID Hemi
V8 engine
, which only 70 of the 503 Daytonas carried. It had a corporate cousin in the "one year only" 1970 Plymouth Superbird
.
Both are now rare and valuable collectibles, with 440-powered Daytonas reaching into six-figure territory and 426 hemi engined cars passing the $300,000 mark. The "Super Charger IV EL", looked like a roadster prototype spin-off of the Charger Daytona minus the roof and spoiler, is seen as a pimp-mobile in the 1974 film Truck Turner
. Actually, it was just an older Charger show car updated with a SuperBird nose.
The very first Daytona Charger was a somewhat handbuilt car and was initially shown at the New York Worlds Fair. It was a Charger SE with the daytona modifications added after build. It had serveral options that were never available on the subsequent builds. This car was part of a lottery by Chrysler who put all of the Dodge dealers names from North America in a draw bin. The dealer who have this first Daytona shipped to them was a dealer in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. This rare SE Daytona with a 440 Automatic still exists today.
The Dodge Charger
was reintroduced for 2006 with a limited production Dodge Charger Daytona package that included a sportier interior, classic high impact exterior colors, a rear spoiler, a front chin spoiler, a blacked out grille surround, rear quarter panel striping reading "DAYTONA" on either side, a blackout decal between the taillights on the decklid, and a blackout on the hood with the word "HEMI" cut out twice. Heritage R/T badges replaced the Stock R/T's chrome badges. A performance suspension with load-leveling rear shocks was also standard, as well as unique wheels. 2006 wheels were the stock R/T 18" wheels with charcoal grey painted pockets, and lower profile wider tires. 2007 to 2009 wheels are 20" chrome clad wheels. In 2008, the rear quarter panel stripes were removed, and replaced with a strobe stripe on the lower portions of the doors that reads "DAYTONA" towards the front of the stripe. The hood decal was also modified. The 2006-2008 Daytona gains 10 hp over the standard Charger R/T via engine management tuning, and a larger stock air cleaner. A unique single-pass muffler was also standard. The 2009 features the new Variable Camshaft Timing HEMI, producing 368 hp.
An alternative model to the Daytona is the Charger R/T with the Road and Track Performance Group. It is essentially a Daytona minus the high impact colors, the unique exhaust (on 2006 version, 2007 had a new exhaust which was slightly quieter than the Daytona system, but slightly louder than the stock R/T system) the front chin and rear decklid spoilers (2006 only, in 2007 both were added) the blackout grille, the stripe package and the blackout decal on the decklid.
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
, has produced three separate vehicles with the name Dodge Charger Daytona, all of which were modified Dodge Charger
Dodge Charger (B-body)
The Dodge Charger was a mid-size automobile produced by Dodge. The 1966-1974 Chargers were based on the Chrysler B platform. The 1975-1978 Chargers were based on the Chrysler Cordoba.-Origin of the Charger:...
s. The name is taken from Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,211. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona – Daytona Beach – Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had...
, which was an early center for auto racing and still hosts the Daytona 500
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule....
, one of NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
's premier events. The first use of the Daytona name on a car was on a version of the Studebaker Lark
Studebaker Lark
The Studebaker Lark is a "compact car" which was produced by Studebaker from 1959 to 1966.From its introduction in early 1959 until 1962, the Lark was a product of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. In mid-1962, the company dropped "Packard" from its name and reverted to its pre-1954 name, the...
. The Daytona was the performance model of the compact Lark and it was produced from 1963-1966.
1969
With the failure of the 1969 Dodge Charger 500, the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona was a high performance, limited edition version of the Dodge ChargerDodge Charger (B-body)
The Dodge Charger was a mid-size automobile produced by Dodge. The 1966-1974 Chargers were based on the Chrysler B platform. The 1975-1978 Chargers were based on the Chrysler Cordoba.-Origin of the Charger:...
produced in the summer of 1969 for the sole purpose of winning NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
races. And win it did: it won its first race out, the inaugural Talladega 500 in the fall, and helped Bobby Isaac
Bobby Isaac
Bobby Isaac is a former NASCAR Grand National champion.-Early life:Isaac grew up on a farm near Catawba, North Carolina, the second youngest of nine children...
capture the 1970 Grand National championship, although he didn't win any races in the Daytona in 1970. Buddy Baker in the #88 Chrysler Engineering Dodge Charger Daytona was the first driver in NASCAR history to break the 200 mph mark on March 24, 1970 at Talladega.
One of the famous aero-cars
Aero Warriors
Aero Warriors is a nickname for four automobiles, also called aero-cars, developed specifically to race on the NASCAR circuit by Dodge, Plymouth, Ford and Mercury for the 1969 and 1970 racing seasons. The cars were based on production stock cars but had additional aerodynamic features.The first...
, its special body modifications included a 23 in (584 mm) tall stabilizer wing on the rear deck, a special sheetmetal "nose cone" that replaced the traditional upright front grille (these weren't made by NASA Chrysler did all of its own wind tunnel testing), a flush rear backlight (rear window area), a 'window cap' to cover the original Charger's recessed rear window, specific front fenders and hood that were modeled after the upcoming 1970 Charger, stainless steel A-pillar covers and fender mounted tire clearance/brake cooling scoops. The Daytona was built on the 1969 Charger's 500 trim specifications, meaning that it carried a heavy-duty suspension and brake setup and was equipped with a 440 CID Magnum engine as standard. Of special note to collectors is the optional 426 CID Hemi
Chrysler Hemi engine
The Chrysler Hemi engine, known by the trademark Hemi, is a series of V8 engines built by Chrysler with a hemispherical combustion chamber. Three different types of Hemi engines have been built by Chrysler for automobiles: the first from 1951–1958, the second from 1964–1971, and the third...
V8 engine
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
, which only 70 of the 503 Daytonas carried. It had a corporate cousin in the "one year only" 1970 Plymouth Superbird
Plymouth Superbird
The short-lived Plymouth Road Runner Superbird was a highly modified version of the Plymouth Road Runner with well known graphics and horn. It was the factory's follow up stock car racing design for the 1970 season to the Dodge Charger Daytona of 1969, and incorporated many engineering changes and...
.
Both are now rare and valuable collectibles, with 440-powered Daytonas reaching into six-figure territory and 426 hemi engined cars passing the $300,000 mark. The "Super Charger IV EL", looked like a roadster prototype spin-off of the Charger Daytona minus the roof and spoiler, is seen as a pimp-mobile in the 1974 film Truck Turner
Truck Turner
Truck Turner is a 1974 blaxploitation film, starring Isaac Hayes and Yaphet Kotto, and directed by Jonathan Kaplan. The screenplay was written by Michael Allin, Jerry Wilkes and Oscar Williams...
. Actually, it was just an older Charger show car updated with a SuperBird nose.
The very first Daytona Charger was a somewhat handbuilt car and was initially shown at the New York Worlds Fair. It was a Charger SE with the daytona modifications added after build. It had serveral options that were never available on the subsequent builds. This car was part of a lottery by Chrysler who put all of the Dodge dealers names from North America in a draw bin. The dealer who have this first Daytona shipped to them was a dealer in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. This rare SE Daytona with a 440 Automatic still exists today.
2006-2009
| Color | Year | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Go ManGo! | 2006 | 4000 (US), 200 (CDN) |
| Top Banana | 4000 (US), 250 (CDN) | |
| TorRed | 2000 (US), 200 (CDN) | |
| Sublime | 2007 | 1500 (US), 150 (CDN) |
| Plum Crazy | 1400 (US), 120 (CDN) | |
| Hemi Orange | 2008 | 1650 (US), 100 (CDN) |
| Stone White | 2009 | 400 (US), 75 (CDN) |
The Dodge Charger
Dodge Charger (LX)
The Dodge Charger LX is a rear-wheel drive four-door automobile introduced in February 2005. Built by Chrysler for its North American Dodge brand, the car was created to continue the Dodge Charger line, and replaced the Dodge Intrepid as Dodge's full-size sedan...
was reintroduced for 2006 with a limited production Dodge Charger Daytona package that included a sportier interior, classic high impact exterior colors, a rear spoiler, a front chin spoiler, a blacked out grille surround, rear quarter panel striping reading "DAYTONA" on either side, a blackout decal between the taillights on the decklid, and a blackout on the hood with the word "HEMI" cut out twice. Heritage R/T badges replaced the Stock R/T's chrome badges. A performance suspension with load-leveling rear shocks was also standard, as well as unique wheels. 2006 wheels were the stock R/T 18" wheels with charcoal grey painted pockets, and lower profile wider tires. 2007 to 2009 wheels are 20" chrome clad wheels. In 2008, the rear quarter panel stripes were removed, and replaced with a strobe stripe on the lower portions of the doors that reads "DAYTONA" towards the front of the stripe. The hood decal was also modified. The 2006-2008 Daytona gains 10 hp over the standard Charger R/T via engine management tuning, and a larger stock air cleaner. A unique single-pass muffler was also standard. The 2009 features the new Variable Camshaft Timing HEMI, producing 368 hp.
Road and Track Performance Group
Production
| Year | Production | Base Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 1,000 | ||
| 2006 | 10,000 | ||
| 2007 | 2,900 | ||
| 2008 | 1,650 | ||
| 2009 | 400 |
External links
- http://www.allpar.com/racing/dodge-nascar3.htmlAllpar Dodge NASCARNASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Development] Extensive history of Charger Daytona development
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