Cars - Dodge Daytona

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	Cars - Dodge Daytona

Dodge, an American automobile brand, has produced three separate vehicles with the name, Dodge Daytona, two of which were modified Dodge Chargers. The name is taken from Daytona Beach, Florida, which was an early center for auto racing and still hosts the Daytona 500, one of NASCAR's premier events. The first use of the Daytona name on a car was the early 1960s Studebaker Lark. The Daytona was the performance model of the compact Lark.

1960s

The 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona was a high performance, limited edition version of the Dodge Charger. It was produced in the summer of 1969 for the sole purpose of winning NASCAR races. And win it did: it won its first race out, the inaugural Talladega 500 in the fall, and with Bobby Isaac behind the wheel, captured the 1970 Grand National championship, NASCAR's highest honor.

Special body modifications included a 23" tall stabilizer wing on the rear deck, a flush rear backlight (rear window area), a special sheetmetal "nose cone" that replaced the traditional upright front grille, specific front fenders and hood that were modeled after the upcoming 1970 Charger, stainless steel A-pillar covers and fender mounted tire clearance/brake cooling scoops. The Daytona was built on the 1969 Charger's R/T trim specifications, meaning that it carried a heavy-duty suspension and brake setup and was equipped with a 440 Magnum engine as standard. Of special note to collectors is the optional 426 Hemi engine, which only 70 of the 503 Daytonas carried. It had a corporate cousin in the Plymouth Superbird.

Both are now rare and valuable collectibles, with 440-powered Daytonas reaching into six-figure territory and 426-engined cars passing the $300,000 mark.

1970s

The name was later used in the 1970s for a sporty submodel of the Dodge Charger (luxury versions were badged Charger SE). The 1976-78 Dodge Charger Daytona was a tape/stripe package. Both versions shared the bodyshell of the Chrysler Cordoba.

1980s-1990s

In 1984, Dodge issued another Daytona model, a front wheel drive hatchback based on the Chrysler G platform, along with a twin, the Chrysler Laser.

This Daytona used the 2.2L Chrysler K engine in normally-aspirated (93 hp) or turbocharged (142 hp) form. The 96 hp 2.5L K engine was added for 1986. In 1985 the 2.2 Turbo I engine's horsepower was increased to 146 hp.

The 1984 Daytona was available in three trim lines - standard, Turbo and Turbo Z. Total production was 49,347.

The Daytona Turbo was on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1984.

Both Daytona and Chrysler Laser were available with the Chrysler Electronic Voice Alert system through 1987.

Chrysler Laser

The Chrysler Laser was Chrysler's attempt at creating a sporty car for their lineup. The Laser was a virtual clone of the Dodge Daytona. It was produced from 1984 to 1986. The only differences were limited to cosmetics and the use of a digital instrument cluster in the XE trim. The 1984 Laser was available in two trim lines - standard and XE. In mid-1985, the XT trim was added as the top-of-the-line version. The standard, XE and XT trim lines would continue until the Laser's demise in 1986. The turbo version of the Laser could be recognized by its use of black hood louvers. The 2.2 Turbo I engine was only available in the XE and XT trim lines. In 1987, the Chrysler LeBaron was restyled as a more proper sports car and there was no need for the Laser anymore. However, the Laser's luxury performance image would be carried over into the 1987 Dodge Daytona Pacifica model. Production numbers were as follows:

1984 - 59,858 (Laser- 33,976/Laser XE- 25,882)
1985 - 50,866 (Laser- 29,221/Laser XE- 18,193/Laser XT- 3,452)
1986 - 36,672 (Laser- 14,134/Laser XE- 15,549/Laser XT- 6,989)

1985

Changes were minimal for the Daytona's second year of production. The Turbo Z model was no longer listed as a package but was now a model in its own right. The wrap-around spoiler, formerly exclusive to the Turbo Z model, was now offered on all three models. But the biggest change was under the hood — the 2.2 Turbo was given more power 146 hp (109 kW), and a new shift linkage was added. Total production was 47,519.

1986

There were numerous changes for the final year of the first generation Daytona. The middle "Turbo" model was dropped, leaving just two models — Base and Turbo Z. Engine changes were also made: A new 2.5L 100 hp (75 kW) 4 cylinder engine was added for the base model. A new targa top package was added to the option list, but just 5,984 Daytona owners chose this option. The biggest addition was the optional C/S (Carroll Shelby) Handling Package. This consisted of 32 mm front and 28 mm rear anti-sway bars, performance tuned struts, and speed rated tires. This package would foreshadow the Daytona Shelbys of 1987 and beyond. Only 7,704 owners added this handling package to their Daytonas. Total production this year would be 44,366.

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