1966 Dodge Charger

Number: HKW65-4B10

Year: 2023 - 12/100

Collection: Mainline

Born: 1968, Detroit, MI

Manufacturer: Dodge

During the early 1960s, automakers were exploring new ideas in the personal luxury and specialty car segments. Chrysler, slow to enter the specialty car market, selected their Dodge Division to enter the marketplace with a mid-size B-bodied sporty car to fit between the "pony car" Ford Mustang and "personal luxury" Ford Thunderbird. The intention was to create a fastback look while sharing as much existing company hardware as possible utilizing lessons learned from the luxury coupe Chrysler 300.

The Coronet-based Charger that resulted was introduced in mid-season of the 1966 model year in response to the Rambler Marlin, Ford Mustang, and Plymouth Barracuda. The styling was generally a departure from the Dodge's mainstream cars. The 1965 Marlin, along with the Charger that arrived during the 1966 model year, were two cars which set a new standard for radical fastback design in American mid-size automobiles.

The Charger made its debut in mid-1966. Sharing its chassis and front-end sheet-metal with the mid-sized Coronet, the Charger was positioned to take on AMC's conceptually similar Rambler Marlin.

Significantly, the Charger's interior was different from all other cars, with a full-length center console and "all bucket seating" front and rear, inspired by the 1960-1962 Chrysler 300, and was similar to the 1964 Pontiac 2+2. The Charger was not intended to compete head-to-head in performance with pony cars, but was available with Chrysler's famed 426 Hemi V8.

Designed by Carl Cameron, the Charger introduced a fastback roofline and pot-metal "electric shaver" grille, complete with fully rotating headlights, a feature not seen on a Chrysler product since the 1942 DeSoto. In the rear, the fastback design ended over a full-width six-lamp taillight with chromed "CHARGER" lettering.