Dodge Charger Muscle Car

The Charger R/T entered the market at $3,506,and boasted a 375 440-cid four-barrel Magnum V-8 engine.

It was also fitted with a heavy duty braking system, and ran on F70x14 tyres.

It could go from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.3 seconds, and cover a quarter mile in 13.8seconds.

The car was hailed as high point in car styling. It was classy, with a hidden headlight grille, recessed tail lights and a refined tail,on a curvy car body.

However, the interior of the vehicle was more understated and functional when compared with previous Dodge Charger designs.

An option for the Charger R/T was a 426 Hemi engine, but it was modified for the 1968 launch and the engine, which produced 425 bhp, added $426 to the cost of the car when fitted.

The launch of the Charger R/T saw an increase of over 600 per cent in sales over the 1967 level. But on the downside, the bucket seats fitted in the 1968 model were short on support, and handling was heavy.
 
Also, the power front disc brakes and power steering were not standard, but could be added as extras.

The Dodge Charger muscle car was a product of the Charger line which was first rolled out in 1966 and was Dodge's first attempt at entering the burgeoning muscle car market.

V8 engines were installed from the outset,but a six cylinder version was not used until the launch of the Charger R/T two years later.

Dodge attempted to promote the Charger by entering it in NASCAR events, but rear handling proved problematic, leading to a rear spoiler being fitted on the boot lid.

1968 saw a major redesign of the Charger plus the addition of the R/T – meaning road/track - suffix. In keeping with the muscle car image of power and speed, only the companies high powered range were allowed to use the R/T tag. The redesign saw the body adopting a curvy “Coke bottle” look.

A year later Dodge introduced a Special Edition – SE – which could also be included with the R/T. Included in the SE lines was the option of a sunroof. However, the sunroof hardly captured the public's imagination, and only 260 were ever sold.

Dodge were keeping a close eye on how the Charger R/T performed on the race track, and is failure to beat Ford in NASCAR inspired design modifications.

This led to the development of the Charger 500, whose prototype was based on the 1968 Charger R/T with a Hemi 426 engine.