MEN AND MACHINES: THE 1969 dodge charger daytona
Hi, We’re Dan and Teresa Larocca, founders and creative partners of Secret Weapon Art, our automotive photography and artwork company. Today WE’d like to EXPLORE the mystique OF THE 1969 dodge charger daytona, one of the most outlandish CARS ever built AND how it CAME TO BE REVERED AS The G.O.A.T. muscle car.
Origins
during the mid-1960s, car manufacturers like ford and chrysler pushed their engineers to design engines that created more horsepower, which meant more speed in order to compete on track in the nascar circuit. “win on sunday, sell on monday.” however, speed alone wasn’t going to win because at over 180 mph the cars were very unstable. rocket scientists hired by chrysler figured out that the way to go fast and stay in control was pretty straightforward - streamlining.
FORD’S DOMINANCE ON TRACK WAS something CHRYSLER WANTED TO END SO IT TURNED TO ITS DESIGN STUDIOS WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF CREATING A PRODUCTION CAR THAT WAS AERODYNAMIC ON THE TRACK BUT ALSO STYLISH ON THE SHOWROOM FLOOR. IN 1968 DODGE introduced THE SECOND GENERATION charger THAT featured the stunning coke bottle styling by richard sias, which won INDUSTRY design awards and sold nicely. However, the previous fastback roof on the first generation was replaced with a “flying buttress” design and this feature along with the indented front grille made the beaUtiful, SLEEK LOOKING charger a wind tunnel nightmare. it gave off a streamlined vibe but it was anything but.
IN ORDER to make it race ready FOR NASCAR DODGE had to modify the aerodynamics of the charger. making the grille area and rear window flush to the edges easily ADDRESSED THE ISSUE and they labeled this evolved version - the charger 500. the nascar homologation rules stated that in order to race the vehicle it had to be basically “stock,” which meant that at least 500 cars had to be sold to the public. DODGE offered the charger 500 for sale in june of 1968, BUT ALTHOUGH nascar czar bill france initially approved the car to race he nixed a front spoiler that was placed under the car’s front bumper. at that time nascar was hesitant about any aerodynamic upgrades on the cars as it made them more like race cars and less like street cars, which is the complete opposite of how it is today. once the spoiler was rejected DODGE lost interest in building the street cars, making only 392 models and none were ever raced. SO FOR THE 1968 SEASON DODGE sent nascar teams using THEIR regular chargers the parts necessary to upgrade their ride AND TURN IT into a 500.
an icon is BORN
IN 1969, having learned their lesson on the CHARGER 500, DODGE INSTRUCTED ITS ENGINEERS to build a car that would dominate at the daytona 500. thus, the charger daytona was created, and its name WAS A REMINDER TO the competition that it was coming to do one thing - win daytona.
INTRODUCED TO THE PUBLIC ON APRIL 13, THE 1969 DODGE CHARGER DAYTONA CAME EQUIPPED WITH AN 18 INCH NOSECONE, 23 INCH VERTICAL stabilizer WING ON ITS REAR DECK AND REVERSE SCOOPS ON THE FRONT FENDERS. THIS MACHINE WAS aerodynamically READY TO ROCK. THE MEDIA AND PEOPLE LOVED THE CAR BUT WERE mystified BY THE FENDER SCOOPS. CHRYSLER CLAIMED THEY WERE FOR TIRE clearance BUT THEY ACTUALLY REDUCED DRAG BY 3% BY ventilating TRAPPED AIR OUT OF THE WHEEL WELLS. IN 1970, DRIVEN BY BUDDY BAKER, IT officially WAS THE FIRST CAR TO BREAK THE 200 MPH BARRIER. OVER THE 1969-70 SEASONS IT AND ITS PLYMOUTH counterpart THE SUPERBIRD WENT ON A TEAR AND WON a number of races and turned ordinary nascar fans into “winged-warrior” enthusiasts. the problem was theSE TWO CARS also attracted the attention of race officials and for 1971 nascar deemed them as having an unfair advantage over the competition and effectively banning them from racing.
JACKPOT
NASCAR’S LOSS WAS THE AVERAGE CONSUMER’S GAIN, RIGHT? NOT EXACTLY. DODGE PRODUCED 503 DAYTONA MODELS TO SELL, BUT AFTER THE initial EXCITEMENT ABOUT THE CAR MOST PEOPLE REALIZED THAT THE DAYTONA WASN’T VERY PRACTICAL FOR EVERYDAY LIFE. PEOPLE VIEWED IT AS WEIRD LOOKING AND WERE ANNOYED THAT IT wouldn’t FIT IN THEIR GARAGE OR THAT YOU couldn’t REALLY OPEN THE TRUCK DUE TO THE WING HITTING THE CAR. DEALERS COULDN’T GIVE THEM AWAY AND SOME ACTUALLY HAD FABRICATORS REMOVE THE NOSECONE AND CUT OFF THE REAR WING AND SELL THEM AS REGULAR CHARGERS. BIG MISTAKE. HUGE! TODAY A MINT condition DAYTONA EQUIPPED WITH THE 440 MAGNUM ENGINE IS WORTH SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS. A MODEL EQUIPPED WITH THE 426 HEMI ENGINE COMMANDS CLOSE TO A MILLION DOLLARS. THE DODGE REGISTRY LISTS THAT 92 CHARGER DAYTONAS EXIST TODAY AND OF THOSE ONLY 11 LUCKY collectors OWN THE HEMI MODELS. JACKPOT!
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