ALT-1 Dodge Charger
Who can ever forget the classic and heart-stopping car chase sequence in the 1968 Steve McQueen movie "Bullitt" which had cinema audiences literally clinging to the edge of their seats?
The Dodge Charger, which encapsulates the muscle car era of American car production in the 1960's, was the car driven by the villains, which eventually met a spectacular end when it crashed into a petrol (gas) station.
The Charger was a full-sized fast back coupe which was absolutely enormous for a two-door four-seater, and yet gracefully designed by Detroit standards of the day. It had a tastefully simple front end with just a hint of danger added by the blanked out grille, the twin headlights being mounted behind electric flaps.
With its buttressed rear pillars it was a long way from the huge and chintzy American cars which so dominated the 1950's.
The first 1967 design Charger, a bold but somehow unexciting fastback, lasted for only a year, when it was replaced by the new design which lasted with only minimal changes right up to the end of production in 1970.
The Charger came with a huge choice of options which meant it could be tailored to individual customer's requirements. Some had relatively tame 5.2-liter V8 engines, but for the true Charger aficionado the only version worth its salt was the 1968 R/T (Road and Track) model. This had an explosive, mind boggling 7.2-liter engine which produced a massive 375bhp and tyre-shredding torque. The Charger would outpace most Italian sports cars of the era, with a 0 to 60mph time of six seconds and reaching 100mph in a mere 13 seconds. (With wheel spin in every gear!) With the pedal to the metal it would eventually wind up to 150mph.
The car was initially as hard to handle as a grizzly bear on steroids, but this was cured by simply bolting down the heavy-duty suspension until it was rock hard and fitting a huge set of anti-roll bars. If you opted for the (optional) front disc brakes then you even had a slight chance of being able to make it stop!
Like most American cars of the period the Charger came with a 3-speed automatic gearbox, but really serious drivers had the option of adding a heavy-duty Hurst manual box. (Stick shift)
The Charger line actually continued right up until 1978, but its credibility as a performance car was gradually eroded as the motor industry in the USA moved its emphasis away from performance towards luxury, safety and economy.
