Now at first glance many people unfamiliar with this car will wonder what kind of monstrosity it is. Furthermore they may also question the presence of God in this universe that such a thing could roll off of an assembly line. No it is not an alien spacecraft. It is a 1969 Dodge Daytona and it is the feature of Muscle Car of the week. Greetings all, Big_Blocker here to give you all a look at one of the most unique cars ever to come out of Detroit, the Dodge Daytona. Hit the jump to read the whole story.

Now those familiar with stock car racing will understand why this car has the name of the famous Florida speedway in its name. By the late 1960’s the NASCAR fever had gripped the entire country, and the Big Three (Ford, GM, Chrysler) were all sponsoring factory backed racing teams in order to boost sales. Dodge was looking for a boost on the banked oval because the B-Body Charger they were using was not doing too well due to a recessed grill and loose rear end. Dodge attempted to remedy this the previous year by introducing the Charger 500 which had a flush grill and better aerodynamics over the rear window. Still unsatisfied however, Dodge called on NASA engineers to develop a better car. After vigorous wind tunnel testing, the engineers developed an 18 inch fiberglass nose cone that all but eliminated drag. That still left one problem: the rear wheels would lose traction at high speeds despite the better airflow from the 500 design. The answer to this came in the form of a two foot wing that kept the rear tires on the ground at high speeds.

According to NASCAR rules, in order to race a car on the circuit, the manufacturer had to make at least 500 that year to prove it was a production car, not just one of a handful built solely for racing. Because this was a production car and had to be sold to the public, it had to function like a production car, hence the need for a wing tall enough for the trunk to open and close. Although the car absolutely dominated the racing world, it fell flat in terms of sales with customers citing looks as a problem. Go figure.

Powering the stock Daytona was the 375 horsepower 440 cubic inch V8, with the monstrous 426 Hemi making well over 425 horses as an option (only 70 would be sold with the Hemi). Backing up those ponies was either an A833 4 speed or the bulletproof 727 Torqueflight automatic. Looks aside, this car was built for one thing: speed. With a drag coefficient of just .28, the Daytona cut through the air better than most cars of today and set a NASCAR top speed record in March of 1970 at Talladega, roaring around the track at 200.447 mph. In fact, it is said that if the owner of a production Daytona drove the car too slow, it would overheat unless the driver picked up speed. Try telling that to local law enforcement.

All in all, only 503 Dodge Daytona’s would be sold in its only production year, the 70 Hemi’s and the remaining 433 with the 440. Although they never looked great, get one out in an open space and most modern cars wouldn’t be able to touch a Daytona.