Dodge Charger Daytona
Dodge produced a modern version they called the Daytona from 2006 to 2009, in 2013 and in 2017. But, they were just an appearance package with graphics, a 392 Hemi V8 and suspension modifications. Car enthusiasts want to see the real Daytona with an enormous rear wing, front clip and NASCAR inspired styling. So what is a better time than now when Dodge has the Charger and the Hemi in production?
The NASCAR races were one of the most important battle arenas of the muscle car wars. And back in the late ’60s, the superspeedways were places of many fierce clashes between Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Plymouth and Pontiac. But the most interesting period was in the late ’60s when NASCAR rules allowed some modifications to car bodies to make cars more aerodynamic.
The condition was to apply the changes to regular production models and sell a limited number of them to the public. Most manufacturers jumped at this opportunity and created Aero racers or specially designed cars homologated for the races. And one of the most famous and influential was the 1969 Charger Daytona. Dodge produced just 504 of them strictly as a homologation special.
Despite winning some races, the Charger 500 wasn’t good enough. So Dodge decided to create a racing car with a special front end, flush rear glass and a big rear spoiler. The Charger Daytona was one of the first cars they developed in a wind tunnel using all-new materials in construction. The Charger Daytona proved to be successful on the race track.
It even managed to do a record 217 mph run in almost stock configuration. This only shows how good the design and engineering behind this project was. The standard engine was the 440 V8 and only about 70 cars received the legendary 426 Hemi.