So often our image of a car is based more on images from Hollywood than the manufacturer’s intended persona. Ever since that black Charger chased down Steve McQueen’s Mustang in Bullitt, the Charger’s had a reputation as a bad guy.

But, like many folklore characters, that wasn’t really the Charger’s intended role at all; this was a luxury automobile — grand touring in the true sense of the word, American-style.
So, whilst it was to be Dodge’s answer to the then popular fastback craze, it was an altogether more luxurious and spacious machine than the utilitarian Mustang. But man, did it have some performance, and Dodge’s PR guys knew it: “Plant one of these in your driveway. Watch your neighbours turn green. Charger’s a luxury car that is nimble and quick enough and challenging enough to make you glad you can’t afford a chauffeur.”

A fishy story

The 1966 Charger was born from the Dodge Dealer Council’s request for a Plymouth Barracuda-type vehicle (Plymouth and Dodge being fellow bed-mates in the Chrysler stable). However, Burt Bouwkamp, Dodge’s chief engineer, was told — “For God’s sake don’t make it a derivative of the Barracuda.”

Based on the existing Coronet, the Charger was given a fast­back roofline and those bad boy retractable headlight hoods. Inside four passengers could luxuriate in individual bucket seats whilst keeping their distance from each other over the huge central tunnel — surely there is more than just a driveshaft and exhaust in there? This was simple model making, just like the Mustang which had evolved from the humble Falcon. The Charger’s difference was Chrysler muscle that, in 1966, others could only dream about.

Instead of the Mustang’s measly sixes and 289ci (4736cc) V8, Mopar went in with a ‘small’ 318ci (5211cc) V8, although most buyers plumped up the greenbacks for the de facto standard motor — the 383ci (6276cc) V8. Need a bit more go? By 1967 you could order up a 440ci (7210cc) Magnum V8 with 280kW (375hp) on tap.

That seems enough for a chap like me — one brought up on asthmatic European small cars — but for the really serious there was the quintessential, most awe-inspiring muscle car engine of all time; the 426 Hemi. This was the first time the punter could buy a Hemi for the street, and with close to 373kW (500hp) it simply blew everything else into the weeds. No contest.

When Steve McQueen’s production company bought a stock Charger to run with his Mustang in Bullitt, the Mustang had to be souped up — it couldn’t keep up with the unmodified Charger!

Muscle machines

This all seems pretty bonkers stuff in this gentler, more PC age, but this was the US of A in 1966. Petrol was cheap, big was good, and luxury meant space. Yet, despite their magnificent engines and sheer presence, the public’s reaction to the Charger remained lukewarm — only 37,000 were sold in its first year (the ’66 mustang sold over 600,000 by comparison). The next year sales dived to just 15,000, so in 1968 came a major restyle resulting in the ‘coke bottle’ Dukes of Hazzard-style Charger — a more successful car but, to my eyes, lacking the simplicity and smoothness of the original design. If the Charger seems exces­sive now, then that’s a reflection of the time and place.

These days these Yankee muscle machines make seriously good modern classics. They’re tough, simple, comparatively cheap, easy to fix, and can more than keep up with modern traffic. Plus, many of these muscle cars are seriously rare sights on our roads — this one certainly gets lots of looks. Yes they eat petrol, but the lucky owners point out they only use them for occasional cruising.

Cool cruiser

This car’s owners, Sam and Sarah, have been going through the muscle car list, having had previous affairs with a Mustang and a Camaro, so they know a few things about running such machines.

The featured car has only just come in from the States and is in completely unmolested, unrestored condition, right down to the bullet lodged into the sill. Yes you read that right, a bullet is still lodged in the sill — how cool is that?

So, 40 years later, what do we have? Well it’s 5182mm long. Let’s put that into context — it’s longer than pretty much any station wagon around these days. It’s 1905mm wide; most Kiwis could sleep crossways in this thing! And this one has a 6276cc big-block V8 that, in a normal state of tune, produces 242kW (325bhp). That’s serious power for 1966 — the all-conquering Jaguar Mk2 3.8 produced just 164kW — especially when you consider you could buy one of these Chargers straight off the showroom floor in this form.

She’s a bit rough to look at and is certainly no Concours machine. But what better history book than an original car with all its years and warts showing? There’s so much more to see and wonder at.

Inside there’s lots of vinyl covering four big, comfortable bucket seats and a huge deck out back — this is way more than a mere parcel shelf. It’s bigger than many moderns’ whole boot space — lug­gage shelf is a better description. The combination of the huge central tunnel and all the vinyl and the switchgear create an aeronautical look, as if the designer really wanted to be making a new-age jet-liner.

Ready to rumble

Okay, lap belt on and key turned. There’s a massive noise and serious shaking. This thing rocks better than Elvis, and the noise! Rumble is an inadequate description of the sound that 6.3 litres of engine makes. This is a far deeper bass sound than the piddly 4.7-litre.

All this expanse of metal and iron adds weight, of course. The Charger weighed around 1700kg, which was a lot before the days of added technology and safety gear, though these days Holden’s lightest V8 Commodore weighs in at a portly 1689kg.

Still, this car isn’t from a time or place when handling and braking mattered much, this was a time of stop-light drags and cruising. And that’s what this thing does real well, as a 17-second quarter mile testifies (that’s roughly similar to a Falcon XR6). Slip the Torqueflite auto into drive and just caress the loud pedal for an easy seamless surge.

I always find such unstressed power relaxing and peaceful. There is just no need to use it; instead you can luxuriate in the effortlessness of it all. There’s a wonderful relaxing gait about a powerful big car that just wants to cruise. Until you floor the throttle, that is — then Mr Nice Guy gets all nasty and hoonish and there’s fun to be had. You need to be careful with cars like this lest you cop a disqualification under the new anti boy-racers rules.

It is no insult to say that the loud pedal is the most precise of the Charger’s driving instruments. Powered discs/drum brakes work well enough for cruising, and would no doubt haul it up for one quick stop, but they would require respect on speedy downhill descents. Power steering guides the front in the direc­tion desired and has that wonderful disconnected, tiller-like feeling of truly big cars; perfect. At 1905mm wide it’s best to approach narrow driveways slowly.

Solid and tight

Surprisingly, this Charger feels very solid and tight. I say ‘sur­prisingly’, as that’s just not my expectation of big US cruisers from this era, especially ones that look like this. But really there are few rattles and a good sense of what I call togetherness. Sounds silly, but it’s what I look for when looking at any car — sloppy ones are never nice to drive, whatever they are.

But cruising to the drag strip is what this beast does best, and it really does do it well.

Even in Auckland this thing gets looks. They’re nice looks though, admiration and respect for the sheer laughable madness of it. This is a car people let into traffic — try that in a Porsche. And people are just so nice about it — at Titirangi, on the weekend, locals man-handled a mere Falcon out of its parking space in front of the Hardware cafe just for us. Nice people, hippies.

The values of Mustangs are rising through the roof at the moment, with a Shelby currently looking for three times its selling price only a few years back. Yet the Dodge is rarer car, and when you look at getting one of these ready and on the road for between $20-30,000, they compare really well with their European counterparts — try getting a usable E-type for that price.

I need to hire that Bullitt DVD back from the local Video Ezy!

Dodge Charger in NASCAR

The Charger wasn’t just a pretty face. Between 1966 and 1977 Dodge Chargers produced 124 NASCAR wins in the hands of such famous drivers as Richard Petty (37 wins) and Bobby Isaac (36 wins).

Bullitt Trivia

The famous chase sequence from Bullitt has been voted the best car chase in film history.

The two 1968 Mustangs were both owned by Ford Motor Company, and were part of a promotional loan agreement with Warner Bros. Their engines, brakes, and suspensions all had to be highly modified after it was found they just could not keep up with the Chargers.

Despite being a great race car driver, Steve McQueen did little of the actual driving, using a motorcycle racer for most of the risky Mustang stunts. You can tell who is driving by the rear view mirror; when the mirror points up and is visible, McQueen is driving, and when it is down and not visible, the stand-in is in the car.

The cars (including the ones containing the cameras) reached speeds of over 177kph (110mph) and filming of the chase scene took three weeks, resulting in nine minutes and 42 seconds of film.

Most records state that two 1968 Dodge Chargers were simply bought from a local Dodge dealer, and only their suspension needed upgrading to cope with the demands of Bullitt’s stunt work. There are some differing opinions about whether one or two were bought, but even more wondrous is the question of what happened to them. The common story is that the Charger was totalled in the actual film in the scene where it looks as if it hits some petrol pumps and explodes. Well, it missed the pumps but did explode, and the fire is said to have destroyed the car.

However, most reckon there were two Chargers, and if there were two, which seems very likely, then what happened to the other one? Legend has it that the enterprising young man who was told to take it to the crusher thought better of it, and it still exists somewhere. Just imagine what that baby would fetch today!

Australian Siblings?

Well yes, if you go far enough back into the Australian and American Charger’s genealogy, they are related. Briefly, the Australian Chrysler Charger descended from the Aussie Chrysler Valiant which, way back in time, was an American Valiant. And in the States, Chrysler used the Chrysler Valiant to spawn the Barracuda, which in turn spawned the Dodge Charger. Simple, really.

Words Tim Monck-Mason Photos Adam Croy