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Mopar Muscle: Legendary Dodge Cars That Defined The Game

Vukasin Herbez February 10, 2023

The Pontiac GTO might have started the muscle car revolution in 1964, but Dodge and Plymouth soon followed. Since Chrysler never imposed displacement limits and a racing ban like did GM, Dodge and its Mopar muscle cars soon became very active both at drag strips and NASCAR ovals, winning numerous drag races.

The R/T badge on the fenders stood for “Road and Track” and truly meant it. Chargers, Challengers, Daytonas, and Coronets were equally impressive on the roads as well as on the drag strips and circuits. With mighty 426 Hemi and 440 Magnums under the hoods, Dodge cars were amongst the fastest and most powerful muscle cars of the classic era. To celebrate that, we compiled a list of the best models that truly defined Mopar muscle car performance. Check them out right here.

Dodge D-Series High-Performance Package

Back in the early ’60s, Dodge had a lineup of trucks that fell behind Ford and Chevrolet. Their competitors had newer models, more options, and more engine choices. But Dodge didn’t give up. They introduced an attractive special edition from 1964 to 1966 that took the pickup world by storm. They called it the High-Performance Package. It featured a lot of go-faster goodies from Mopar. First, there was the mighty 426 Wedge V8 engine with 375 HP. At the time, it was the biggest, most powerful engine ever in a pickup truck.

There were bucket seats in the interior and a 6,000 RPM tachometer. It also came with wild racing stripes and a performance transmission (via Motor Trend). Dodge even revised the suspension to withstand its big power and torque. The finished product looked cool and performed well, but its high price sealed its fate. They only made 50 Dodge D Series High-Performance Package models and only 31 exist today. As a result, they are rare, valuable vehicles that are increasingly hard to find.

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Dodge Coronet 426 Hemi Sedan

The Chrysler Corporation reintroduced its legendary 426 Hemi engine for 1966 as an option on selected Plymouth and Dodge models. The iconic power plant was an option on the Coronet and technically came with any body style. However, buyers associated Hemi power with two-door coupes or convertibles, and most people needed to realize that they could have Hemi in a sedan or even wagon form (via Auto Evolution).

That’s why only a few people bought the Coronet De Luxe Hemi four-door in 1966, getting the ultimate muscle car sedan. With the advertised 425 HP under the driver’s foot, the Coronet Hemi four-door was arguably the fastest production sedan in America and the ultimate four-door muscle car.

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Dodge Dart 413 Max Wedge

The early ’60s marked Mopar’s entry to the drag racing scene with several models, the first of which was the brutally fast Dart 413 Max Wedge. The 1962 Dart was a mid-size family model offered with choices of six-cylinder and V8 engines and a long list of optional extras. It was a high-volume car with no racing pretensions until somebody shoehorned a big 413 Wedge engine with up to 420 HP (via Motor Trend).

Equipped with a limited-slip differential, several rear-end ratios, heavy-duty suspension, and a lightweight body with a stripped interior, Dodge Dart 413 was an actual muscle car bred for the drag strips. The 413 Max Wedge package was more expensive but still popular with amateur racers who could challenge the big boys and win.

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Dodge Charger

In 1966, a brand-new Charger was a mid-year introduction and the newest model in the muscle car class. It was based on the Chrysler B-Body platform and shared much of its mechanics and chassis components with other less attractive Dodge models like Coronet. However, it came with fresh new sheet metal and a very cool-looking fastback roofline. The design of the 1966 Charger was completed with hideaway headlights and a big chrome grille which finished its menacing and aggressive looks (via Top Speed).

The interior was also very modern, with a cool-looking dashboard and four bucket seats. The rear seats could be folded down, creating enormous trunk space. Under the hood, Dodge offered various engines, starting with a modest 318 V8 unit. The step-up was a 383 V8 which could deliver 325 HP. However, the best and most powerful option was the mighty 426 Hemi.

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Dodge Hemi Dart LO23 Super Stock

As one of the biggest forces on America’s drag strips in the ’60s, Chrysler always looked for ways to improve performance, introduce new concepts, and break records. After years of fiddling with mid-size platforms, for 1968, Mopar shoehorned the Race Hemi in the smallest platform they could find – Dodge Dart (via Dodge Garage).

The actual fabrication of this beast was a tough task. The Hemi Darts were assembled almost by hand using regular 383 Dart as a basis. Installing the big Hemi in the small Dart’s engine bay was a challenging and tight fit, but Chrysler engineers managed to produce exactly 80 cars. Of course, none of them were street legal, and they all went to racing teams, painted in primer and ready for race decals and stripes.

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Dodge Coronet Super Bee

The Coronet was always an intermediate sedan in Dodge’s lineup, and before the muscle car era, it was a pretty ordinary and dull car. However, in the late ’60s, Coronet got powerful engines, and it was a high-speed street fighter. The Super Bee model debuted in 1968 as Dodge’s answer to Plymouth Road Runner (via Old Cars Weekly).

The Super Bee had a lighter body, fewer options, and wild graphics, and buyers could choose between the standard 383 V8 and the optional 440 V8 or the mighty 426 Hemi engine. Although less popular than the Charger or Roadrunner of the same vintage, the Super Bee is still one of the most recognizable Mopar muscle cars.

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Dodge Charger Daytona

The NASCAR races were one of the most important battle arenas of muscle car wars, and back in the late ’60s, the superspeedways were places of many fierce clashes between Detroit’s manufacturers. The most exciting period was the late ’60s when NASCAR rules allowed modifications to car bodies to make cars more aerodynamic. Most manufacturers jumped to this opportunity and created Aero racers, or specially designed cars, homologated for the races (via Motor Trend).

One of the most famous and influential was the 1969 Charger Daytona, produced in just 504 examples, strictly as a homologation special. The Charger Daytona was one of the first cars to be developed in a wind tunnel and used new materials in construction. It proved to be very successful on the race tracks and even managed to do a record 217 mph run in almost stock configuration, which only shows how good the design and engineering behind this project were. The standard engine was 440 V8, and only about 70 cars received the legendary 426 Hemi.

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Dodge Dart GSS (Grand Spaulding Dodge)

Back in the early ’60s, the performance market could have been more interesting for mainstream dealers. However, some specialized dealers like Norm Kraus’s Grand Spaulding Dodge paid attention to the performance market and youthful buyers. When the muscle car era launched, Kraus’ dealership was more than ready with a full selection of performance parts, components, and cars, but the real climb to fame was the fact that Mr. Norm did something Dodge thought was impossible (via Motor Trend).

Kraus wanted a 383 V8 engine in a compact Dodge Dart body. He knew that it would sell because the Dart was a lightweight car. And with a potent 383, it would truly be fast. However, the Dodge engineering team didn’t believe that a 383 V8 wouldn’t fit the small Dart’s engine bay. So he ordered a brand new Dart and a crate 383 V8 engine, and in a few days, a Dodge Dart GSS (Grand Spaulding Special) was born. Even though the Dart GSS was a specially built tuner model, it proved to be a very influential and well-known piece of Mopar’s performance history.

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Dodge Challenger R/T

Even though Plymouth had the Barracuda, the first pony car model introduced two weeks before the Ford Mustang, its Dodge stablemate didn’t enter the segment until 1970. Some muscle car historians said Dodge was almost late for the party, but the Challenger was so good that it indeed left its mark and reserved a place in history. Mopar’s E-Body models Barracuda and Challenger were brand new for 1970. They featured a unique design and better construction, as well as a broader and longer body (via Hemmings).

There was no significant mechanical difference between the Barracuda and the Challenger, only the design. These two cars had some interchangeable body parts as well. The Challenger got full firepower from Mopar’s engine, and buyers could get a powerful 383 V8, a big 440, and the famous 426 Hemi. Of course, the best performers were the 440 and the Hemi. Depending on the specifications, differential ratio, and gearboxes, Challengers equipped with those engines could accelerate to 60 mph in the 5.5 to 5.7-second range, which was considered quick for 1970.

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Dodge Lil’ Red Express Truck

The muscle car era affected the truck segment, which resulted in a few unique versions and more powerful engines. However, nothing changed the truck industry more than when Dodge introduced the Lil’ Red Express Truck in 1978 as the first full-size muscle truck in the world. The secret of the Lil’ Red Express Truck and its importance lies in the strict rules of the late 1970s, which robbed the V8 engines of their power and vehicles of their performance (via Dodge Connection).

But Dodge found an interesting loophole in the current regulations that declared pickup trucks didn’t need catalytic converters. This meant Dodge could install a more powerful engine that allowed it to breathe easier and deliver more punch than previous models or competitors. Dodge took a standard D Series short-bed truck, added a 360 V8 engine, and put big truck-like stacked exhaust pipes right behind the doors. They also installed a more durable automatic transmission. It was attractive due to its red color scheme, signature decals and details, and lots of chrome trim. Also, this wild-looking special model had a 225 HP engine, which was considered powerful in those days.

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Dodge Magnum

The model name Magnum may sound familiar since Dodge used it on a successful line of station wagons produced from 2005 to 2008, but it truly dates as far back as 1978. The original Dodge Magnum was a luxury muscle car coupe produced for two years, 1978 and 1979. Back in the late ’70s, the American performance market was practically dead. The insurance companies and environmental and safety laws had killed the muscle car culture and new cars had embarrassingly low power (via Motor Trend).

The muscle car market wasn’t gone; there just weren’t any cars that could be bought that had performance numbers close to the models from the late ’60s. As one of the prominent muscle car companies, Dodge knew this and tried to introduce a model that would have some power in a luxury package to appeal to the broader audience. This is how the Magnum was born. It was a cool-looking coupe with all the right ingredients for the period: rear-wheel drive, a long hood, a short deck, and a thumping V8 in the front. The biggest engine was a 5.9-liter V8 with 195 HP. Of course, this is diminutive by today’s standards, but back in 1979, this guaranteed respect. Unfortunately, the high price didn’t help the sales, and Dodge Magnum didn’t return for the 1980 model year.

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Dodge Charger (1968)

After two years on the market and good sales numbers, Dodge decided to introduce a second generation of the Charger. The new model was designed and engineered to rule the burning muscle car segment. Dodge wanted to give its premium muscle car unique looks and features that would distinguish it from competitors. So, in 1968, muscle car fans were wowed by the fantastic lines of the brand new Charger featuring popular “Coke bottle” styling, a prominent grille, muscular shape, recessed rear glass, and four round rear lights. In those days of crazy designs and aggressive muscle car styling, the 1968 Charger was in a league of its own, and no other model could compete with this coupe (via Hemmings).

Despite its unique design, Charger used a Coronet basis. But it gained new engine choices such as 440 V8 and one new trim package – R/T. The R/T (Road and Track) package was a popular option that included graphics, beefier suspension, and steering and came with a 440 engine as standard. If you wanted full power in your 1968 Charger, you could choose the Hemi, which was significantly more expensive. The 1968 Charger proved to be a massive success for Dodge. Over 96,000 cars left the Dodge factories in that year alone.

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Dodge Charger 500

Most muscle car fans know the Charger lineup well, including the wild Charger Daytona from 1969. But Daytona’s predecessor, the Charger 500, was far less known and not as successful. In the late ’60s, Dodge was desperate to go racing in NASCAR, and the Charger was the perfect candidate. However, since NASCAR cars already approached high speeds of almost 200 mph on newly constructed superspeedway tracks, aerodynamics played a key role in a car’s performance and results (via Road and Track).

The standard Charger could have been more aerodynamic with a deep grille and concave rear glass. But despite powerful engines and good drivers, it just couldn’t achieve the speeds required for winning. Dodge decided to introduce a limited-edition Charger 500 (named 500 because Chrysler made that many examples). With a flushed grille, fixed headlights, and regular rear glass to improve the aerodynamics of the car. The 500 was somewhat better but not quite as good, so Dodge decided to go even further and present the Daytona. The Charger 500 had two engines, a standard 440 and an optional 426 Hemi. Since the Daytona was much more successful and exciting, the Charger 500 was soon forgotten by everyone except for hardcore Mopar muscle guys.

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Dodge Charger R/T (1971)

After the highly successful second-generation Charger, produced from 1968 to 1970, Dodge introduced a fresh model in 1971. The car received a new design following the classic lines but with more curvy styling. Arguably, the 1971 model didn’t look as good as the model it replaced, but still, it was a classic Dodge muscle car with a big grille, hideaway headlights, and a sleek coupe appearance (via Hemmings).

The end for original muscle cars was in sight. But Dodge kept the Charger fully stocked with 440 and Hemi engines still available. The R/T package was a popular choice for performance-loving muscle car enthusiasts. And the best thing to choose was also a Six Pack option for the 440 Magnum engine. It delivered 385 HP and came with a unique hood scoop and graphics. The Hemi found its way in just 63 cars, and Dodge also presented the SE (Special Edition) package. Which was a more luxurious version showing that Charger would become a personal luxury car shortly.

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Dodge Charger Super Bee (1971)

Dodge’s managers decided to merge the Coronet and Charger lineups for 1971 and offer B-Body models in two distinctive flavors. From 1971, all four-door models were Coronets, and all two-door models were Chargers. This meant that the Coronet Super Bee was now a Charger which caused some confusion with the buyers (via 71 Super Bee).

The Charger Super Bee was a one-year-old model that was an entry-level muscle car. It sold at lower prices but packed good equipment, wild graphics, and a 440 engine as standard. The Super Bee was a relatively popular proposition for people looking for a classic performance machine in vivid colors and tire-shredding performance. The base 440 delivered 370 HP, and the Six Pack option was capable of 385 HP. The Hemi was the only engine option but very rare, and just 22 cars had the engine.

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