Back in the 60s, the muscle car era was in full swing, with some of the most elaborate paint jobs and V8 engines we have ever seen.
It was, at least in the automotive industry, a period of excess and huge success built on that excess. Everything demanded more; more displacement, more power, more features, and naturally, more gas. This period of extremes obviously came to a crashing halt when the oil crisis set in by the early 70s, some might say it was a timely intervention, but not before it gave us some of the thirstiest, most spectacular big block muscle cars.
One of those was the famous Dodge Coronet R/T, especially potent with a Hemi, especially rare with a soft top.
10 Coronet History
Introduced with a typical 40s design in 1949, the midsize car initially came with a simple flat-head inline 6 engines that were good for around 100 horsepower.
On the back of solid sales, the model got a radical redesign in the 50s, with the obligatory tail-fin and a couple more powerful Hemi V8 engine options. The model was dropped for a time between 1959 and 1965.
9 Chrysler B-Body
When the Coronet returned in 1965 it was reborn as a fairly tame-looking sedan, based on the prolific Chrysler B-body platform.
Although the base-model looked fairly tame, as you climbed the options tree, things got altogether more interesting. The 440 with a six-pack was one pretty enticing option given the value it offered, but for those with deep pockets, there was a full-on race-spec Hemi on offer.
8 Elephant Motor
The 426 might technically be a few cubic inches down on the 440 motor, but you certainly wouldn’t be able to say so by having a look at the sizable Coronet engine bay it fills out so well.
Nor does it disappoint on the spec sheet, as it produces 425 horsepower, a good 35 more than the 440. It is a proper performance engine, and although back in the 60s and 70s the extra cost may have not seemed like good value, 30 years down the line, it is one of the few V8 engines that have become exceptionally desirable.
7 No-Charge Optional 4-Speed
For most enthusiasts, it might seem pretty bizarre how few manual muscle cars there are left on the road today, but it was really never something anyone cared for back then.
At the time, the slushbox was convenient and pretty new tech, today they seem laborious and archaic, even compared to the average four on the floor manual transmission. As a result, pretty much all manual transmission muscle cars are pretty rare, and the Coronet is no exception. Less "no-charge" more "no-dice."
6 Short Lived R/T
Introduced for the 1967 model year as a hardtop coupe or convertible, the R/T would only be around for four short model years.
The R/T was sold with the powerful big block 440 motor, the Hemi engine was always only an option, at around $1,000 more, it was also a fairly exclusive option.
5 Controversial Restyling
For 1967 the styling remained fairly pedestrian, with squared off lines that could easily blend into the contemporary automotive landscape.
That all changed rather dramatically in 1968, so much so that these cars would hardly pass for a modern facelift but might get categorized as an all new generation. A combination of this bold new styling and the tailing off of the muscle car era saw a sharp decline in sales by 1970.
4 Rudimentary Suspension
In the front you just got a pretty run-of-the-mill torsion bar setup, something that some pickups still use today, but even back in the 60s this was far from modern technology, even though Chrysler confusingly marketed it as their “Air Ride Suspension.”
At the rear you got good old-fashioned leaf springs, so this was not a car destined for the track, unless that track was a drag-strip.
3 Outdated Brakes
To be very clear disc brakes, not experimental racing disc brakes, commercial mass-produced disc brakes were already in use since the late 50s.
For a car with this amount of power and weight to come off the showroom floor with all-round drum brakes is shameful. Disc brakes were still only an option at the time…
2 Drop-Top Muscle
As much as people love to focus on muscle car specs, something that actually evolved into an all out arms race between the big three, they were never about performance at all. They were all about the experience.
In terms of an experience, this convertible delivers. A big rumbling Hemi powering you along the highway with the top down is the image they would sell you, and for most, that is an experience worth paying for.
1 Unicorn Cars
With the slow down in sales by 1970, just under 300 convertibles were made, of those 300 only two, that is right, two, came equipped with the Hemi from the factory.
Of those two cars, one had its engine replaced with a genuine Hemi and factory four speed (above), the other car is an automatic that actually also got optional disc brakes. Truly rare beasts.