The Charger 500 was a limited-edition production Charger that Dodge produced in an attempt to compete with the Ford Torino and Ford Talladega models that were cleaning up in the NASCAR circuits. The first prototype Charger 500 was a 1968 Charger R/T with a 426 Hemi under the hood mated to a Torqueflite transmission. Production numbers for the standard 1969 Charger totaled 89,200, of which only 500 were the special Charger 500. Most of them came standard with the 440 Magnum engine with the 426 Hemi available as an upgraded option (only 67 of 500). The Charger 500 was designed to be a little more are dynamic than the standard Charger and had a flush-mounted front grille proudly displaying exposed headlights and a slightly modified rear window which was mounted flush with the trailing edge of the roof.
For the 1970 production model, the Charger 500 nameplate no longer signified a limited production special edition Charger; it became the name of the trim package between the standard equipped Charger and the high performance Charger R/T. Total production of all Chargers in 1970 totaled 46,576 with 27,264 of them wearing the Charger 500 nameplate.
1971 would be the last year that the Charger model would be offered with the 500 badging. This third generation body styling (1971-1974) would be less popular than the second generation style (1968-1970). 82,681 Chargers were the production numbers for the 1971 model, of which 32,813 were Charger 500s. Increased scrutiny from government regulations about emissions and the beginning of the declining sales for muscle cars industry wide contributed to the Charger 500 being dropped to from the 1972 lineup.
If you’re lucky enough to be an owner of an original equipped with the 426, the 1969 models are worth $132K on average.
29 Comments
Austin Pierce Mansfield
lol mustangs stand no chance against any mopar
Morgan Winter
If this was a normal 68 Charger, you’d be be right. But this is the rare Charger 500, a factory mod made in an attempt to become more competitive with FoMoCo’s NASCAR entries. Note the exposed headlights and Coronet grill. In other pics you can see the revised rear roofline and back glass area, all modifications made to improve aerodynamics. Didn’t really work, so the next step was the Charger Daytona.
Michael V Parrillo
This is a 1969 Dodge Charger 500. It was made only for one year and it was built to race in NASCAR. They had to make a street version for sale to the public in order to satisfy NASCAR homologation rules. The 500 option included the 426 Hemi, a 727 transmission with extra cooling capacity, a flush mounted rear glass and highback bucket seats with molded in headrests. All other ’69s had the lo-back buckets with an adjustable headrest. The tail lights were the same as the regular ’69. In 1970, the 500 option became a cosmetic trim package – basically the forerunner to the 75 and up SE package.
Roger Whitmore
It is a 69 vintage and the looks are not up to the standard Charger. Actually the coronet looked better.
Phillip Raccio
This is nice. I liked my 70 charger. B4 i strpped it down and sent in along. Lol