Here’s Why This 1969 Dodge Hemi Daytona Sold For $1.3 Million

For the first time in its history, an extremely rare 1969 Dodge Hemi Daytona was hammered down for a whopping $1.3 million at the Mecum Auctions 2022 held at Indianapolis from May 13 to 21. This is the first time a Daytona was sold for seven-figure numbers breaking the previous record, also held by a Charger Daytona at S900,000.

Mecum authorities set the auction block at an estimated $1.1 million lower ends, given the highly accessorized Mopar being one of the 70 Dodge Charger Daytonas with a 426 Hemi mill. Besides, the 50 years old NASCAR-inspired American muscle car is also one of the 22 Daytonas with a Hemi V8 mated to a four-speed A833 manual transmission.

The winged Charger sold for a staggering $1.3 million, breaking the previous record of $900,000 held by a Copper Metallic Charger which was sold at 2015 Mecum Auctions to actor David Spade in Kissimmee.

1969 Dodge Hemi Daytona: A Rare Piece Of History

Rare is an underrated adjective for the highly equipped winged ’69 Daytona being a highly optioned Charger Daytona known to mankind. This specimen sports performance additions such as power steering, N85 Tic Toc Tac, P31 tinted power windows, N51 max cooling package, C6G green vinyl bucket seats with C55 headrests, AO1 light groups, S81 wood grain steering wheel, G33 remote left-hand mirror, R22 AM/8 track radio and C62 6-way adjustable driver’s seat.

The restored Charger sported an F8 dark green paint job matched with steel wheels strapped with redline tires and a substantial black wing at the back. As of unofficial records, about 500 units of the1969 Daytonas were ever manufactured by Chrysler. The Dodge Charger Daytona is already known for touching the 200-mph milestone in NASCAR for the first time in history. The 1969 Dodge Hemi Daytona was, however, a product of the batch produced by Chrysler when they had to homologate a bunch for the road before they could race the famed muscle car on the NASCAR racetracks.

This 1969 Daytona was restored recently with special care taken to ensure that the sheet metal remained intact. This was to ensure that the originality of the customized Daytona could be preserved, which ran out of the Chrysler factories to the Dodge City Inc in Phoenix in Arizona.

At that time, Dodge dealerships were given a free hand to order custom Daytonas from the Chrysler factories. This ’69 Dodge Charger Daytona with a Hemi and a 4-speed A833 manual transmission is a rare collectible item that easily surpassed the earlier record of $900,000.

Cool Visual Features Of This Dodge Hemi Daytona

If it is still not convincing enough to say that this ’69 Dodge Daytona is one of the rarest muscle cars available, the coupe form factor with trademark aerodynamic nosecone and sky-high rear wings are bound to make jaws drop at first glance. Besides, if the F8 dark green paint job and steel wheels were not appealing enough, the car was restored with CHARGER branding on the rear panels rendering an authentic, NASCAR-inspired design.

This Daytona is also the only one known to have the C6G green vinyl bucket seats with C55 headrests, making it even more a collector’s item than something you would use to cruise up and down Main Street. As an actual muscle car with 400 plus horses, the highly optioned 1969 Charger is also equipped with a Super Grip rear axle and a Hurst shifter.

Dodge Hemi Daytona Performance Was Governed By Aerodynamics

With a 4.10 gear ratio and limited-slip differential, the 426 Hemi mill churns out more than enough horses transmitted directly to the rear wheels to spin them in a hurry. Did we also mention that the limited-slip differential rear axle was also a part of the A34 super track pack? I bet you did not know that.

The Daytonas are Mopars crafted with insane aerodynamics and performance parts – one of the many reasons that the much-acclaimed Plymouth Superbird could not be the one to touch the 200 mph milestone first in NASCAR. However, they are held to be the reason that enticed Richard Petty to make a comeback to race for Chrysler at the American racing event NASCAR.

The aerodynamic nose cone design with the skyrocketing rear wings is attributed to the heady years of the Apollo program, during which the world-famous Mopar was developed with the help of the experts at the aerospace division of Chrysler. At that time, it was an apt design to keep the tires in contact with the asphalt even at blistering speeds of 200 plus miles per hour.

Initially, the ’69 Dodge Daytona was made available with two trims – one with a 440ci Magnum mill and the other featuring the 426 Hemi V8 powerplant, which churned out 425 horses with ease. Out of the 500 production units, the Hemi was equipped in only 70 units, while only 22 units received the A833 transmission with the Hemi mill.