The 1970 Dodge Challenger is a muscle car classic. Dodge conceived its midsize muscle car as a "Challenge" to the Mustang and Camaro pony cars. They nailed it. With its chiseled physique, this tough-looking car demands attention. And, available with the legendary Hemi V8s, this intimidating Challenger certainly packs a punch as well.

Updated February 2022: The Dodge Challenger remains a highly sought-after classic muscle car today. We've updated this article with info on its current value in the used car market so buyers can have an idea how much it costs to buy their dream car.

Hollywood noticed the Dodge Challenger and made it the star of 1971's Vanishing Point. The Challenger also saw some racing success in the Trans-America Championship. Despite the positive publicity, the first Dodge Challenger was late to the pony car party and did not sell nearly as well as Dodge had hoped. Besides, looming emissions regulations would limit the run of the first-generation Challenger to just four years. The entire production of early Challengers was only 165,437 cars.

Read on to explore how the 1970 Dodge Challenger came to be, what makes it one of the best muscle cars of all time, and the unfortunate set of circumstances driving the price of these classics sky-high.

Unpopular when introduced, the 1970 Dodge Challenger now receives the recognition it deserves as a rare collector's car.

The Pony Car Party

1970 Dodge Challenger
Stellantis

When Ford launched the Mustang, Americans couldn't get enough of the powerful, nimble, and affordable car. Ford had to build over 500,000 Mustangs in 1965, and the pony car vehicle segment was off to a gallop. General Motors threw all its resources into a Mustang competitor. GM was second to market with this rapidly developed and launched Camaro. Chevrolet introduced its new car in a September 1966 media blitz and found success, having to make over 220,000 1967 Camaros to meet demand.

Obviously, Dodge's Mopar parent company was itching for its share of this new market. But they had a major problem: the Dodge V8, with its hemispherical combustion chambers, was the engine of choice for drag racers and hot rod builders. But it was far too heavy to fit into a pony car.

Mopar's Plymouth division had launched the revolutionary Barracuda based on the compact Mopar A-Body platform. The nimble and stylish Plymouth was doing well in pony car sales. However, Plymouth engineers were frustrated that they could not get the car to handle well with a Mopar big-block V8.

Dodge wanted to create a pony car but was told not to compete directly with the little Barracuda. Mopar's first attempt to answer the cheap muscle craze was the Dodge Charger, B-Body. Dodge designer Carl "Cam" Cameron penned the outside of the groundbreaking midsize car. The first-generation Charger was a massive two-door car, weighted with luxury options but boasting straight-line power. It also came in with a higher price tag than its supposed pony car competitors. The Charger completely missed the pony car mark. Sales fizzled, with only 53,000 units produced before the major 1968 model-year redesign.

In the late 1960s, Dodge and Plymouth began to cooperate on a new, midsize chassis. Their goal was the smallest possible car that could handle a big-block Hemi V8. Their project would become the famous 1970 third-generation Plymouth Barracuda and a brand new 1970 Dodge. They combined components of the second-generation Barracuda's A-Body design and the Charger's B-Body design. The engineers agreed to use the 1970 B-Body firewall and dash, which set the windshield and door seam height. Then they shortened the wheelbase: Dodge opted for 110 inches, and Plymouth shaved their wheelbase down to 108. With the major design points decided, Cameron created an aggressive, iconic exterior for the 1970 Challenger.

Muscle Car Marvel

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 440
sv1ambo via Flickr

At launch, Dodge offered an unprecedented number of ways to customize the 1970 Challenger. The Challenger was available as either a base-model or a high-performance Road/Track model. Body styles included the hardtop coupe, the two-door convertible, or the Special Edition (SE) coupe.

Base-model Challengers came with a Slant-6 engine. The base engine for either R/T or SE models was the 318 V8 with a 2-barrel carburetor. Optional engines included the 340 V8, the 383 V8, the popular 440 Magnum V8, and the legendary 426 Hemi engine. The 440 Hemi was a huge engine with wedge-shaped combustion chambers, but with relatively low compression and only 335 horsepower. The 426 Hemi began as a homologation engine for Dodge's NASCAR teams and boasted high compression and hemispherical combustion chambers. The 426 churned out 425 horsepower.

The standard transmission was Dodge's 3-speed manual transmission, while the TorqueFlite automatic was optional. The larger V8s were available mated with a 4-speed manual transmission.

The Road/Track or R/T option came with a Rallye instrument cluster, including an oil-pressure gauge, 8,000 rpm tach, and speedometer climbing to 150 mph. R/T Challengers were available with carburetor setups such as the Six-Pack and air intakes like the shaker hood, which was an air filter sticking through a cutout in the hood.

The Challenger SE was a more luxurious car, designed to compete with Mercury's "Luxury Mustang," the Cougar. The Challenger SE featured a vinyl-covered roof, leather and vinyl bucket seats, and a smaller rear window. It was decorated with SE medallions and an overhead console with door-ajar, seatbelt, and low-fuel warning lights.

To compete in the Trans-America championship, Dodge needed to sell their race-ready drivetrain in a TransAm homologation car. The street version of the racecar was called a Challenger T/A with the 340 V8 fed by way of an aluminum manifold and three two-barrel carburetors, all beneath a huge snorkel-style air scoop. Manual T/A Challengers featured a pistol-grip Hurst shifter. The T/A also featured different front and rear tire sizes, uncommon at the time. Front disc brakes and limited-slip differentials were optional on all performance Challengers but came standard on the T/A.

RELATED: Bring A Trailer: Bright Blue 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 426 Hemi

The Challenger's Rise In Popularity

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T
sv1ambo via Flickr

First-generation Challengers were only produced until 1974. But ever since, they have been gaining popularity. Vintage Challengers never went out of style and continue to appear in films such as Tarantino's Death Proof, 2 Fast 2 Furious, The Bucket List, and 2 Guns.

Several one-of-a-kind Challengers have fetched record prices at auctions. In the early 2000s, muscle cars were considered good project vehicles but a poor choice for collectors. Then a 4-speed Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda convertible⁠—one of only two produced, and the only one with its original engine⁠—went to auction. It was the first muscle car to command a price tag of over a million dollars. In 2014, that car sold again for $3.5 million. After the headline-grabbing Cuda sold, its rare Challenger cousins began climbing in value as well. The National Historic Vehicle Register even inducted a rare Challenger to its register.

Finally, in 2008, Dodge launched a new retro-styled Challenger. The marketing and popularity of the new car drove prices of the few remaining first-generation Challengers even higher.

RELATED: Rare Factory 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Convertible Lines Up For Mecum Auction

Classic Dodge Challenger Values Today

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T
sv1ambo via Flickr

Since these high-profile collectible E-Body sales, many people want an eye-catching Challenger. High trim-level 1970 Challengers in immaculate condition continue to appear at exotic car dealerships and command six-figure price tags. Today, no one will deny that the 1970 Dodge Challenger is a classic. Unfortunately, since so few were made, most cars' prices are climbing to meet this new demand.

Classic.com tracks the prices models have gone for at auction. In the last five years, the most expensive 1970 Dodge Challenger to sell at auction went for $1.4 million, while the lowest sale clocked in at $15,950. The average 1970 Challenger cost comes to $86,805.

The 1970 Dodge Challenger is the perfect midsize car to showcase the Dodge Hemi engine. It is good to see the Challenger receive more recognition every year, but unfortunate that the remaining first-generation cars are so expensive.