Fastback Forerunner: The 1965 Dodge Charger II Concept

You could be forgiven for assuming that the Dodge Charger II, which made its debut in early 1965 at the Chicago Auto Show, was a prototype for the 1966 Dodge Charger production car, which rolled out one year later on January 1, 1966. After all, that’s the natural order of such things. But in fact, the ’66 Charger was already approved for production when the Charger II was constructed and sent out on the auto show circuit—mainly, it’s said, to stimulate the public’s appetite for the dramatic fastback roofline.

Design work on the Charger slantback, which was ultimately based on Chrysler’s intermediate B-body platform, had actually started back in 1963 with a rendering by ace Chrysler stylist Carl “Cam” Cameron, which he called the Monte Carlo. By the way, there was also a Charger or Charger I show car, but this was was a shortened Polara-based two-seat roadster that was related to the slope-back Chargers in name only.

There’s one more interesing wrinkle in the fastback Charger story. At one point, there were plans to do another limited-production turbine passenger car program to follow up on the fabulous Chrysler Turbine Ghia cars of 1963. This time around, a run of 500 turbine-powered vehicles would be produced, and it was decided that the glamorous Charger fastback would make the perfect showcase for the advanced powertrain. But as plans often did in the star-crossed turbine program, the scheme fell apart. The production Charger launched with the usual slate of Chrysler piston engines, including the 426 Street Hemi V8.

There are a number of visual differences, of course, between the Charger II and the production ’66 Charger. The rear end and full-width tail lamp assembly on the show car are far more dramatically sculpted, to name one. But there’s one area where the production Charger is superior to the show car, in our view. While the Charger II’s front end treatment is rather plain and unremarkable, no offense, the production Charger (below) was blessed with an elegant, fine-toothed grille with hidden headlamps—a far more striking look.

The first-generation Charger was not a big seller, unfortunately, and it remained in production for only two years, ’66 and ’67. However, the Charger label is still in use to this day as one of the oldest model names in the Motor City.