Dodge Charger Daytona

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Dodge, an American automobile brand, has produced three separate vehicles with the name Dodge Charger Daytona, all of which were modified Dodge Chargers. 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 the early 1960s Studebaker Lark. The Daytona was the performance model of the compact Lark.

[edit] 1969

First generation

Production	1969
Assembly	Hamtramck, Michigan
Class	Muscle Car
Body style(s)	2-door coupe
Platform	Chrysler B platform
Engine(s)	426 Hemi 426 cu in (7 L) V8 440 Magnum 440 cu in (7.2 L) V8
Transmission(s)	4-speed manual 3-speed automatic Torqueflite 727
Wheelbase	117 in (2972 mm)
Related	Dodge Charger 500 Plymouth Superbird

With the failure of the 1969 Dodge Charger 500, the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona was a high performance, limited edition version of the Dodge Charger 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 (both designed specially for Chrysler by NASA), a flush rear backlight (rear window area), 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-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.

[edit] 2006-present

Second generation

Production	2006-present
Assembly	Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Class	Sports car
Body style(s)	4-door sedan
Platform	Chrysler LX platform
Engine(s)	5.7L (345 CID) EZB MDS HEMI V8 (2006-2008) 5.7L (345 CID) EZD MDS VCT HEMI V8 (2009)
Transmission(s)	5-speed W5A580 automatic
Wheelbase	120 in (3048 mm)
Length	200.1 in (5083 mm)
Width	74.5 in (1892 mm)
Height	58.2 in (1478 mm)
Related	Chrysler 300C Dodge Magnum R/T Dodge Charger R/T Dodge Challenger

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 current 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 (7 kW) 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 (274 kW).

[edit] Road and Track Performance Group

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.

[edit] External links

• Allpar Dodge NASCAR Development Extensive history of Charger Daytona development

[edit] Related content

• Plymouth Superbird
• Ford Torino Talladega
• Dodge Charger 500