Once again it is Thursday and you all know what that means…that’s right, a new installment of Muscle Car of the Week, and this week I have picked my hands-down favorite muscle car to profile. But what is this car? Why did I pick the 1968 Dodge Charger R/T? You will find the answers and much more when you hit the jump.

Dodge introduced the Charger for the 1966 model year after watching the success of the Ford Mustang and Pontiac GTO. This new car was to be based on the Coronet platform and featured a massive fastback rear window (that many thought was too much) as well as hidden headlamps and 4 full-size bucket seats. All that made for one large and powerful car and in order to keep up with the emerging performance markets, several V8’s were available with the 318 cubic inch being standard and putting out 230 horsepower. Not much changed for the 1967 model run, the Charger retained its large fastback roofline, however now available was the 440 V8 as the standard mill in the R/T package.

The year 1968 brought big changes to Detroit and was arguably one of the finest years for the American muscle car. Most if not all automobile models were redesigned and given a longer lists of power adding options for this year. The Charger received a makeover that gave it a distinct and powerful look. Gone was the excessive fastback roofline and in its place was a curvy body with a recessed grill and tail panel. The front headlights were hideaways with the back lighting coming in the form of two circular lamps to each side of the car. The 1968 Charger shared the engine options with the 1967 ranging from the robust 318 to the mighty Hemi. The 440 Magnum V8 that was standard if the R/T option was checked off was the biggest engine available at the time from Chrysler and was a serious performer. I know what some of you may be asking: What about the Hemi, wasn’t it the most dominant engine of the era? The answer to that is yes, however that dual-quad setup on the Hemi along with a tendency to go through valve springs at an accelerated rate meant the Hemi was a pain in the ass to tune and could become quite cantankerous at times. The 440 Magnum on the other hand did not require the tuning of the Hemi and for the most part could hold it’s own against it before the Hemi eventually pulled away because of ample top end power. The 440 was underrated at 375 horsepower and a stump-ripping 480 pound feet of torque at 3200 rpm. Available transmission options were the bulletproof 727 3-speed auto or the A833 4-speed manual, both of which able to handle the power of the 440 and Hemi.

Dodge was rewarded with big sales in 1968 and ended up selling over 92,000 Chargers, 17,000 of which were R/T’s. The car was very popular and was even featured in the cult classic movie Bullitt starring Steve McQueen. In the movie, Steve McQueen’s character gets into one of the most famous car chases of all time in which he drives a 1968 Mustang Fastback and the bad guys drive a black 1968 Charger R/T. Seeing as the movie was filmed in San Fransisco with its many hills, the cars took quite a beating cornering and body slamming at high speeds. A little known fact however is that during shooting while the Mustang constantly needed repairs to its suspension, the Charger required no repairs whatsoever. So next time a Blue Oval guy gives you shit about liking Dodge you remind them of that and they might shut up.

Hope you enjoyed a look at my favorite muscle car. Big_Blocker out.