1971 Dodge Charger Daytona Hits Auction as Cool Slice of Mopar History
The one and only 1971 Dodge Charger Daytona design study never resulted in a production car, but it’s quite the amazing find.
Throughout the course of Mopar history, there have been many rare, cool, and downright iconic creations, including the famed super speedway wing cars that garnered many wins – and much attention – on the NASCAR circuit. These cars were so successful that NASCAR eventually had to change its rules and effectively kill the program, but before that happened, the automaker was working on a next-generation model – the 1971 Dodge Charger Daytona. Unfortunately, that car never came to light, but the design study itself is now set to be sold at Mecum’s Indianapolis auction.
The 1971 Dodge Charger Daytona was subjected to wind tunnel testing after being fitted with the requisite nose cone and rear wing, the former of which is equipped with electric headlight doors, and made tweaks throughout the process to optimize aero. However, what’s particularly interesting is that while rules changes ultimately made it irrelevant, the Mopar team also discovered that the new Charger already showed a great improvement in terms of aerodynamic efficiency over the 1968-1970 model, perhaps making these changes unnecessary.
Thus, the next-generation Charger Daytona never saw the light of day, but this car lives on as a cool and unique footnote in Mopar history. To create it, the automaker started with a 1971 SE model equipped with the 383 V8 and a four-speed, but added a monstrous 472 cubic-inch Mopar Performance V8 sporting a six-pack setup mated to an American Powertrain five-speed gearbox and a 4.10-geared Dana 60 Sure Grip differential.
Suspension updates were extensive as well, with a list consisting of .96 front torsion bars, Mopar Performance rear leaf springs and adjustable air shocks, and HD front and rear sway bars, plus power steering and four-wheel power disc brakes. The whole thing rolls on 15-inch wheels wrapped with BFGoodrich radial tires as well. In addition to the unique nose and wing, the 1971 Dodge Charger Daytona was also fitted with a functional Ramcharger hood with J45 hood pins, aero-tested side exhaust exits, rear window louvers, R/T graphics, and a black wing stripe with “Daytona” lettering, most of which was the covered in bright white paint.
After appearing in multiple magazines and at countless events, the 1971 Dodge Charger Daytona is now set to be sold at auction for the very first time, where it should conjure up plenty of interest from collectors while threatening to surpass its $220k-$225k estimated hammer price.
Photos: Mecum
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