Charger 500 Is a Rare Piece of Mopar Racing History

Incredibly-rare Charger 500 predated the legendary Dodge Daytona and was built solely with NASCAR dominance in mind.

The 1969 Charger 500 is a car that only diehard Mopar fans will recognize right off the bat. Before the Daytona was designed, the aero wars were in full effect. While it may look normal to most at first glance, the most apparent difference is right in the front. You can see the headlights! That’s because the 500 did not come with the iconic vacuum-operated headlight hiding grill as featured on the standard 1969 Charger.

Youtuber Lou Costabile created this walkaround video of David Mellusi’s ridiculously clean example in Ivy green. Mellusi states he picked it up after seeing one in his younger years and having wanted one since.

“Most of the people who have seen it at local shows don’t know what it is and they think I’ve modified a 69 charger because it doesn’t have the customary hidden headlights you’re used to seeing,” said Mullusi.

The subtle difference of the roofline is what most will not recognize is different. However, the 500 has the same beefy A-pillars and flush rear window found on the Daytona. This was a result of Dodge consulting with aerospace professionals, who immediately identified the notch style rear window found on the regular Charger as a major aerodynamic flaw. Many of those who see it recognize it is slightly different, but can’t quite identify why.

“I think if you’re not really into Mopars that much, you don’t really know much about it,” said Mullusi, referencing how often he is asked what it is at car shows.

The Charger 500 was available with either the 426 Hemi or the 440 Magnum. This particular example has the 440 and a four-speed manual transmission.

“Now that’s wonderful. Isn’t it? It’s just glorious,” said Costabile as he lifts the hood to reveal the 440.

Only 392 examples of the Dodge Charger 500 ever came to be. Unfortunately, they did not do well in NASCAR competition. NASCAR officials turned down the front aero they had designed because it made it look like it wasn’t a stock car (if you can believe that). Though technically a failed experiment, without this failure we wouldn’t have this rare piece of Mopar history. Additionally, had the 500 done what it set out to do, we may not have ever had the Daytona.

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Braden Carlson

Braden Carlson is an automotive enthusiast from Boise, Idaho. At 19 he quit his day job to pursue a career in automotive journalism, launching his Youtube channel in his own name. Today you can still find him producing DIY video content, reviews and writing for an amassment of automotive websites. His work is most frequently found on Rennlist, The Mustang Source and Corvette Forum. When not writing or driving, he's likely to be found covered in grease and oil undoubtedly from one of his gratuitous collection of questionable project cars.