Muscle Cars
The Dodge Charger 500: Didn’t Quite Dominate NASCAR
The ‘Aero Wars’ of 1969 and 1970 in NASCAR saw Chrysler and Ford bring in radical designs to push their ‘stock’ cars to the limit. One other car model which tried this was the Charger 500.
It was soon realised that to get speeds past the 180mph+ range, more streamlining would be needed to the vehicles. Although the Charger had an incredible look and sold well, it was arguably not the most aerodynamic.
Motions were put in place to release 500 of the car’s to the public to be considered for NASCAR racing. Unveiled in June 1968, the car was then pitched to Bill France of NASCAR.
Initial reservations came about from the car’s front spoiler, but the cars still was sent out to dodge dealers, saying the 1969 Dodge Charger 500 would be available with initially a 426 hemi and also a 440 engine. The base price was $3,843, with the Hemi version adding $648. Creative Industries installed the grill, front spoilers, rear window plug and chrome a-pillar covers.
It is said that roughly 392 Charger 500s were sold, but none were raced. The ones that were raced simply had the modifications added to a regular Charger to make it into a 500.
The model is now an ultra rarity, but at the time it didn’t compete in NASCAR’s as Dodge had hoped. The Dodge Charger Daytona produce the goods a year later, but the Dodge Charger 500 still stands as a classic of its time and a sought-after muscle car.
Original article
More Muscle Cars For Sale – http://fastmusclecar.com/muscle-car-for-sale/
0 comments