The Dodge Coronet R/T doesn’t get much respect in the muscle car world. Though it was created to be Dodge’s de facto muscle car model in 1967, it became overshadowed by the pricier but sexier Charger in 1968. And then the Super Bee debuted mid-year, creating more appeal with a more appealing base price.
Of course, the Super Bee came with a 383 Magnum versus the 440 Magnum for the Coronet R/T. But the Charger R/T was mechanically identical, so the Coronet R/T was somewhat squeezed in between the two. Its GTX cousin didn’t have that issue because Plymouth had no Charger equivalent.
If you note Coronet R/T production, it didn’t even reach 11,000 for 1967, with similar numbers for 1968. For 1969, it was a bit over 7,000, then fell to about 2,600 for 1970. That’s quite low considering how many Super Bees and Charger R/Ts were sold.
Of course, for 1968, the Coronet R/T had one optional engine: the 426 Hemi. Approximately 220 hardtops were built with this engine-to-end-all-engines. Dress it up in a gorgeous turquoise hue with black vinyl top and white interior and you’ve got yourself a looker. Charger who?
Join Muscle Car Campy as he and owner Mark Oestreich go for a ride in a vehicle that, despite getting no respect, has class and fast in spades. And if you dig the above video, then click here for more Muscle Car Campy vids.
Source: www.classiccars.com