# 10 Iconic Cars From Dodge | Otto Explains | AutoTronix **Section:** Otto Explains **Canonical:** https://autotronix.om/otto/dodge-iconic-cars **Language:** English **Arabic version:** https://autotronix.om/ar/otto/dodge-iconic-cars --- ## Short Answer Otto’s ten iconic Dodges run from 1968 to 2021. They are the Dart GTS and the Coronet Super Bee of 1968, the 1969 Charger Daytona, the 1970 Challenger, the 1984 Daytona, the 1996 Viper GTS, the 1998 Durango, the 2003 Neon SRT-4, the 2018 Challenger SRT Demon and the 2021 Durango SRT Hellcat. They run from 1960s muscle cars to a drag car too quick for the drag strip and an SUV Dodge calls the most powerful ever, and each is remembered for something specific. --- ## How did Otto choose these ten cars? Each car is a model in its own right with a defining fact from Dodge’s own records, and together they cover muscle cars, a sports coupe, a supercar, a compact and two SUVs from 1968 to 2021. Vehicles that changed Dodge as a company, such as the 1914 ‘Old Betsy’, the 1966 Charger, the Caravan, the 1992 Viper RT/10, the 1994 Ram, the Challenger SRT Hellcat and the 2024 Charger Daytona, are covered in Otto’s article on the legendary Dodges. The order below is chronological, not a ranking. --- ## What made the 1968 Dart GTS special? The Dart had been Dodge’s compact since 1963, and the 1968 GTS turned it into a performance car, with a 340 cubic-inch V-8 as standard and an optional 383, heavy-duty suspension, a power-bulge bonnet and racing or bumblebee stripes. The same year Hurst built 75 HEMI Darts for NHRA drag racing. --- ## What was the Coronet Super Bee? The Super Bee joined Dodge’s range in 1968 as a Coronet-based muscle car with up to 425 hp, the year Dodge launched its Scat Pack. In 1969 it was the first car offered with the 440 Six-Pack, a 440 V-8 with three two-barrel carburettors. The Super Bee moved to the Charger in 1971, and the name has returned since, most recently on the 600-hp 2027 Charger Super Bee Launch Edition. --- ## Why is the Charger Daytona remembered? Built in 1969 for NASCAR, the Charger Daytona had a nose cone and a tall rear wing, and just over 500 were made. In 1970 Buddy Baker drove one at 200.447 mph, which Dodge calls the first time a car broke 200 mph on a closed course. The Daytona name has since returned on several Dodges, most recently the electric Charger Daytona. --- ## Why is the first Challenger an icon? The Challenger arrived in autumn 1969 as a 1970 model on Chrysler’s E-body, with a wheelbase 2 inches longer than the Plymouth Barracuda’s. More than 83,000 were sold in its first model year. The T/A was built for Trans-Am racing and was one of the first production cars with different tyre sizes front and rear, and a 1970 R/T starred in the film Vanishing Point. The first-generation car was built until April 1974, by which time about 188,600 had been sold. --- ## What was the Dodge Daytona of the 1980s? The Daytona was a sports coupe introduced in 1984, and in Turbo Z form its turbocharged 2.2-litre engine gave 142 hp. It was restyled with pop-up headlamps for 1987, the year the Shelby Z version had a 174-hp Turbo II engine. --- ## What made the Viper GTS different? The GTS was the Viper’s coupe, on sale late in 1996 with an 8.0-litre V-10 of 450 hp, and it paced that year’s Indianapolis 500. Its racing version won the 1997 FIA GT2 championship, which Dodge marked with the 1998 Viper GTS-R GT2 Championship Edition. --- ## Why does the first Durango matter? Introduced in 1998, the Durango brought V-8 power and seats for seven to the mid-size SUV class, and the 1998 Durango R/T had a 5.9-litre V-8. The Durango line is the one Dodge sells in Oman today. --- ## What was the Neon SRT-4? The SRT-4 turned Dodge’s Neon compact into one of the first SRT cars, after the Viper SRT10. In 2003 its intercooled turbocharged 2.4-litre engine gave 215 hp, raised in 2004 to 230 hp with a limited-slip differential, and its final year was 2005. Otto explains turbocharging in [turbocharger vs supercharger](https://autotronix.om/otto/turbocharger-vs-supercharger). --- ## Why was the Challenger SRT Demon banned from drag strips? Because it was too quick. The 2018 Demon’s supercharged HEMI made 840 hp on high-octane fuel, and it ran an NHRA-certified quarter mile in 9.65 seconds at 140 mph, so the NHRA banned it from its drag strips. It reached 60 mph in 2.3 seconds, its 2.92-foot front-wheel lift at launch was certified by Guinness World Records as a first for a production car, and it was the first factory-production car with a TransBrake. Only 3,300 were built, all for one model year. --- ## What is the Durango SRT Hellcat? It put the Hellcat’s supercharged 6.2-litre HEMI, with 710 hp, into a three-row SUV. Announced for the 2021 model year only, it reached 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, ran an NHRA-certified 11.5-second quarter mile and could tow 8,700 lb. It is part of the Durango range again in 2026, in the US and in Oman, and Dodge calls it the most powerful gas SUV ever. Otto explains what those figures mean in [horsepower vs torque](https://autotronix.om/otto/horsepower-vs-torque). --- ## Common Questions **Why aren’t the Viper RT/10 and the Caravan on this list?** Because they changed Dodge as a company, so they are explained in Otto’s article on the legendary Dodges: the Viper RT/10 gave Dodge a hand-built supercar and led to SRT’s first official car, and the Caravan created the minivan. **Which Dodge was quickest over a quarter mile?** The 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 ran an NHRA-certified 8.91-second quarter mile at 151.17 mph, quicker than the original Demon’s 9.65 seconds. **How many Challenger SRT Demons were built?** 3,300, all for the 2018 model year. --- ## Related Otto Explanations - Why You Need a Pre-Purchase Inspection Before Buying a Used Car: https://autotronix.om/otto/pre-purchase-inspection --- ## Related Services - AutoTronix PERFORMANCE: https://autotronix.om/performance - Performance Car Pre-Purchase Inspection: https://autotronix.om/performance/performance-pre-purchase - Performance Vehicle Health Report: https://autotronix.om/performance/vehicle-health-report --- ## Book a Service WhatsApp: +968 9966 7600 https://api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone=96899667600&type=phone_number&app_absent=0 Location: Mabellah Industrial, Street 7, Muscat — Saturday to Thursday, 9 AM to 9 PM