Charger is an American car produced by Chrysler, under the brand name Dodge. From the mid-60s to the present day, several different Dodgé cars based on three different platforms were called Charger. Buyers were available sedans, hatchbacks and luxury coupe under this brand.
In 1999, Chrysler showed the public the concept car Dodge Charger, which, however, was very different from the serial model, which began to be released in 2006. A similar name is Ramcharger, used for light trucks and pickups manufactured by Chrysler, under the brand name Dodge. Officially, the Dodge Charger was introduced in the middle of the 1966 model year, although the concept car show, based on the Dodge Dart Polara, and named the Dodge Charger, was produced back in 1964. And since 1965, the Dodge Dart Charger was mass-produced, and before the official launch of the car with its own name Charger, only 180 of these cars were produced.
However, in those years, Dodge produced and sold about 300 conversion kit (conversion kits) of the usual Dodge Dart to the Dodge Charger, which dealers could install on their own. The 1966 Dodge Charger was designed to compete with the Plymouth Barracuda and the Ford Mustang. These two names were already well-established, and the unknown Dodge Charger, based on the Coronet platform and with a price of $ 3,122, created a splash in the market. Partly, the reason for this was the interior, made in a completely unusual, for that time, style. Experts considered it a work of art.
Dodge designers paid attention not only to the front passengers, as was customary until now, but worked on the overall look of the interior. Exactly the same bucket-shaped ergonomic seats that were intended for the driver and front passenger, were installed at the rear. Previously, a bench was used for this.
Standardly, the car was equipped with a 5.2-liter V8 engine, but most of the buyers chose a 6.3 liter V-eight, with a capacity of 325 hp for an additional charge. Despite the huge sales success in 1966, Dodge sells only 15.788 cars in the next 1967th. It was less than half sold in six months from the start of the release. The fact is that during this period the feverish fashion for fastbacks ends, and the manufacturer seriously thinks about the redesign of Charger.
The design of the new Charger with a muscular front and back, with elegant waists and smooth lines will later be called “coke bottle styling” for the shapes and curves of the body, similar to the Coca-Cola bottle. The taillights of the updated model are made a la Corvette. In general, Dodge always knew how to please the customer.
In 1968, the Charger released the famous R / T (Road and Track) modification with the standardly installed 440 Magnum engine with a power of 375 hp. In 1969, a special version of the Dodge Charger Daytona for racing NASCAR. Unfortunately, 1971 is considered the beginning of the end of the so-called. “Muscle cars” because of the tightening of regulations on toxicity and emissions into the atmosphere, and the high cost of insurance for “auto racing.” Despite this, Dodge continues to successfully produce this year two types of cars: Chargers and Coronets, which differ only in the number of doors. The Chargers have two, and the Coronets have four.
In the period from 1972 to 1974, Dodge gradually transformed the Charger from the category of supercharged cars for adrenaline production into the category of luxury comfortable cars. From 1975 to 1978, the Dodge Charger was produced on the Chrysler Cordoba platform. Charger SE (Special Edition) was the only modification offered to the buyer in 1975. But he was distinguished by a large choice of engines: from 5.2 L V-type eight-cylinder “LA” series to 6.6 L V8. In 1976, the model range was expanded to 4 modifications - base, Charger Sport, Charger SE and Charger Daytona.
In 1978, the release of the Dodge Charger, the series-B series, ends, and it is replaced by the very similar in design and philosophy of the Dodge Magnum. Dodge Charger reappears in production only after 5 years, in 1983. This car, bearing the name of its glorious predecessor, no longer had any relation to muscle cars and shared a common platform with the Chrysler L, and under the hood had an engine from Volkswagen, the volume of 1.7 L and a power of 70 hp The official name of this generation was the L-platform Dodge Charger. In parallel, produced "twins" concern Chrysler with the names of Plymouth Duster and Plymouth Turismo.
In 1983, the legendary and brilliant Carroll Shelby (Carroll Shelby) modified the Dodge Charger, for sale to its Dodge dealers as the Dodge Shelby Charger. Not paying special attention to the speed characteristics of the car, Shelby carefully modifies the suspension and is engaged in styling. Although the maestro also worked with the engine - its power was increased from 70 "horses" to 107, and the gear ratios of the manual gearbox were also increased. A shorter suspension, together with powerful brakes and sharper steering, did their job - the car was almost sporty.
To top it off, the car was decorated with bright sports stickers, so that no one had any doubts about the sports habits of the car. In 1987, Carroll Shelby bought the last 1000 Dodge Charger Shelby and in his workshops (Whittier, California) turned them into GLHS, which were no longer named Dodge, but were called Shelby Charger GLHS. The cars were equipped with 175-horsepower turbo engines with intercoolers, the suspension was equipped with Koni shock absorbers and Z-type tires. The car could accelerate to 217 km / h.
The resurrection of the glorious name began in 2006, when Chrysler began to admit a rear-wheel drive full-size car built on the LX platform from the Chrysler 300 under the Dodge Charger brand. The interior of the new car is almost identical to the interior of the Dodge Magnum. The new Charger is only available as a 4-door sedan, which has disappointed many fans of the 2-door coupe. Production is located at the Chrysler plant in Brampton, Canada. Under the hood, a 3.5 L V6 engine. The version of the Charger Daytona R / T with a 20-inch chrome wheels debuted at the Chicago Auto Show in 2006. Here, the main driving force is the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engine with 340 hp.
A year earlier, at the International Auto Show in New York, the SRT-8 version was presented with the most powerful engine Chrysler ever installed on production cars - Hemi V8, 6.1 liters, 425 hp. The Super Bee version of the 2007 model year was shown to the public at the 2006 New York International Auto Show. In essence, this is the same SRT-8, but painted in a special yellow “Detonator Yellow” with black stripes along the body. This version was released in a limited edition of 1000 pieces. The Super Bee B5 Blue version was shown at the North American International Auto Show in 2007 and was also produced in 2008 with a limited edition of 1,000 units.
Also, special versions of the Dodge Charger were released for the police and for NASCAR races.
