Dodge has unveiled their tribute to the famous 1969 Daytona Charger with the 2020 Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition.
Dodge has a word problem. Whenever they create a new model car, instead of giving that car a new name they just tack on more names. So what was once the Dodge Charger becomes the Dodge Charger SRT, then the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, then the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody, and now we’ve got the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition.
There’s just gotta be a way of shortening this down so it can fit on a business card. Maybe an acronym: DCSRTHWD50thAE. Nope, that’s even more incomprehensible. We’ll workshop it.
Anyway, it’s been 50 years since the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona first took to the NASCAR circuit. The car came out with an absolutely bonkers aero package that gave it an infamously tall stabilizer wing and a nose that tapered to a point like a rocket. As crazy as it looked, it wasn’t just for show. The Daytona Charger won two races in 1969, and a further four races in 1970.
Now to celebrate the Daytona Charger’s 50th birthday, Dodge has come out with a special edition Hellcat Widebody. Called the Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition, Dodge engineers tweaked the gearing so that this special edition Hellcat makes 10 more horses at 6,100 rpm for a total of 717 horsepower. Torque remains the same at 650 lb-ft.
This makes the Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition the most powerful Charger ever made.
The original Daytona Charger had 501 examples made in order to clear it for NASCAR competition, so Dodge will make 501 of these special edition Hellcats. Instead of the huge rear wing and funny lookin’ nose, Dodge has outfitted the 50th Anniversary Edition with a “Daytona” decal and matching spoiler.
You can get the 50th Anniversary Edition in either B5 Blue, Pitch Black, Triple Nickel or White Knuckle, with B5 Blue being unique to this particular car. If you opt for White Knuckle paint, the white Daytona decal is instead given a brighter finish for a very subtle effect.
Along with the nice decals and the extra power, the car gets 20x11 "Warp Speed" wheels with unique Satin Carbon finish and 6-piston Brembos in the front and 4-pistons in the back.
Orders for the Daytona 50th Anniversary Hellcat will open with the rest of the 2020 Charger models later this fall, with deliveries in early 2020.