As far as bog-standard cars made for the drag strip go, the Dodge Challenger 1320 is a bit of a quiet hero. While this Challenger variant largely stays under the radar, this transbrake-equipped, drag radial-shod, 6.4-liter V8-powered muscle car is music to the ears of those who want to click off seriously consistent quarter-mile times. However, if you have children or friends, you’ll know that coupes aren’t the most practical bodystyle out there. So how does a parent balance responsibilities with drag strip fun? The Dodge Charger Super Bee might just be the answer.
For those unfamiliar with Mopar history, the Super Bee first entered the marketplace for 1968 as a street brawler based on the Dodge Coronet. By dropping a 383 Magnum, 426 Hemi, or later a 440 Six-Pack into a family car, the Super Bee was an easy way to get tons of displacement in a relatively sensible package. Funnily enough, it was also Dodge’s entry-level muscle car, promising all-you-can-smoke burnouts in a more affordable package than a Charger. Oh how the turntables.
Funnily enough, the Super Bee transitioned from a Coronet base to a Charger base in 1971 before reappearing on the modern Charger. While the 2007 through 2009 models added onto the Charger SRT8, the Charger Super Bee eventually ended up as a more affordable variant of the SRT model from 2012 to 2014 before coming back for one last hurrah in 2023.
In essence, the Charger Super Bee is a Charger Scat Pack with a little bit of drag strip prep done. You still get the brawny 6.4-liter 485-horsepower V8 hitched to a slick eight-speed automatic gearbox, but you also get enough hardware to cut a decent 60-foot. Let’s start with the wheel and tire package. Instead of well-rounded street tires, Dodge goes all-in with a set of drag radials measuring 275 mm wide on standard models and 315 mm wide on widebody cars. The larger 315-section tires require some sidewall flex to really dig in, so they’re mounted on 18-inch wheels that don’t clear the larger brakes found on most high-performance Dodges. As a result, the Charger Super Bee runs smaller four-piston Brembos up front.
This is all made possible by Dodge’s dizzyingly massive parts bin for its rear-wheel-drive cars. Want a drag pack for a Charger? No worries, use some Challenger 1320 and/or Super Stock bits. Want a wicked fast Chrysler 300? Go down to aisle 17 with the forklift and pluck out a Hellcat engine. Want a widebody V6 Charger rental car? Weird request, but it’s theoretically possible. With the Dodge Charger Super Stock, the parts bin rummaging doesn’t stop at brakes and rolling stock. The hood is straight off of an SRT Charger, offering heat extractors to cool things down. The exhaust tips are also off of an SRT Charger, while the adaptive dampers adopt a drag mode calibration similar to the one seen on the Challenger 1320. Overall, the Super Bee treatment should amount to a comfortable rear-wheel-drive sedan that leaves the line surprisingly hard.
Of course, not everyone will be able to get their hands on a Charger Super Bee. As part of Dodge’s special seven-model runout series, only 500 narrow-body and 500 widebody examples will be made. All standard-width cars will come in B5 Blue, while all widebody cars will feature Plum Crazy paint, ensuring that no bad color choices can be made. Expect pricing and more details on availability to be announced this autumn when order books open.
Lead photo credit: Dodge
Who cares these cars are cheaply made trash.
Love the graphics but I wish they were a matte black on the purple, not the white. I think if I ever NEED to sell my Mustang for a family car I’d have to go with a Hemi Charger.
How much for the sticker set?
What’s the over under for how many of these end up on BaT and WCCC with 23 miles for 300% over MSRP?
All of them?
Well, that’s only if they’re not stolen first.
People gotta make up for the 35% interest 15-year car mortgage they took out on these things somehow!
no yellow? 😛
Maybe on one of the other “last call” cars? But yes, on the Super Bee would have made sense.