1966 Dodge Charger: Fastback Muscle Practicality
The early Charger Provided Utility and Could Be very Fast
“Charger” was a familiar name in the early 1960s thanks to the Ramcharger and Hemi-Charger competition cars, so its use was a shrewd move by Dodge to provide instant recognition among performance enthusiasts. The car’s origins were slightly more complicated.
For Dodge, It Began with the Hemi
Dodges were fast before anyone had heard of muscle cars; the badge’s first V-8 was a 241-cubic-inch Hemi that appeared in 1953. Known as the Red Ram, it produced 140 horsepower and four years later, its descendant – the D-501 – generated 340 horsepower from 354 cubic inches.
Hemis then vanished for several years while the concept of small performance cars began to take shape. Dodge introduced the Dart in 1960, but its 118-inch wheelbase was just four inches less than that of the full-size models. The next year brought the 106.5-inch Lancer and while it offered a 195-horsepower 225-cubic-inch six, the Dart was available with a 330-horsepower 383-cubic-inch V-8.
In what was gradually becoming the muscle car field, there was room for different approaches when it came to size. That was a good thing for Dodge, which introduced the intermediate Coronet in 1965 and asked in an ad “why not drop a Hemi in the new Coronet 500?”
High-performance Meets Practicality
Primarily a competition engine, the new Hemi was not the old Hemi; at 426 cubic inches, it was rated at up to 425 horsepower and customers who suspected that it was more than their Coronets needed could opt for lesser V-8s or even a six. Most did.
The 1965 Coronet was a cleanly styled car and although its 1966 revision gave it additional stampings in the body panels and a more intricate grill, it remained attractive. It was available with what Dodge called the Street Hemi – a relatively civilized version of the race engine – as was the new 1966 Charger. If you knew that the Charger was based on the Coronet, the connection was obvious; otherwise, seeing it might take a moment or two.
The big difference was above the beltline, where a fastback roof ran unbroken from the windshield down to the taillights. The Charger isn’t small and some have always maintained that it’s too big to be aesthetically pleasing as a fastback. Whether that’s true is a matter of taste, but its size and design do enhance the Charger’s utility.
“Cross a sporty-type car and a station wagon,” Dodge advertised, “and what happens? Dodge Charger!"
The wagon claim is legitimate because the Charger's rear seats folded individually to provide a flat surface on one or both sides. That cargo area was accessible from the passenger compartment or the trunk, but was it really as useful as it would be in a station wagon? No, but it was better than anything that most notchbacks could offer.
Going fast in Style
Beyond the fastback, the Charger’s hidden headlights also distinguished it from the Coronet and although interesting because they were the first on a Chrysler product since the 1942 DeSoto, the Charger was really about looks and performance in equal measure.
“The Hemi was never in better shape,” according to another ad. “Beauty and the beast. That’s a sleek Dodge Charger with come-hither fastback styling and a deep-breathing 426 Street Hemi growling under the hood.”
Dodge sold just over 37,000 Chargers in 1966 and almost 16,000 of the nearly identical 1967 Chargers. For 1968, it introduced a new design that looked nothing like the original.
The 1966-67 Charger looks like no other car.
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