This 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona broke an auction record, but could it have claimed more?

[Hagerty]

David Spade lost his crown last week. The funnyman claimed the record for highest price paid for a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona back in 2015, a $990,000 laurel wreath he wore until a Mopar ultra-fan plunked $1.32 million down for a Daytona at Mecum's Indianapolis sale.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/valuation/this-1969-dodge-charger-daytona-broke-an-auction-record-but-...

[JBBearcat]

Whatever your brand loyalty, the Daytona is THE muscle car to have.
Why?
Simple:
If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.

[Maestro1]

I've been saying for some time that we'll see a market correction although with price like this everybody will say I'm wrong. Don't count on it. Auctions are just as much about herd lust as they are real value of the object at auction. As the prices rise you can feel the room vibrate........

[Snailish]

I have always liked the Mopar wing cars. Very cartoon is probably why.

I really don't care that someone wants to show off having the "best optioned original yadda yadda" example by paying a silly amount of money. Though the history of this car is interesting in itself, the focus on one auction result is to the detriment of the story (at least to me).

Wing cars are frequent-flyers in the auction circuit, I'm sure there are some with 5 or more auction-result owners in the last 10 years alone. That's far less interesting than the ownership chain that actually used the car from 69-80s or whenever the car's real life ended.

[Inline8OD]

Absolutely.  The story should be what drove a distaff high school English teacher to buy such a car.   Who was she?  You can Google the features, options, colors of the above or any car.

 Hagerty is first an insurance company pandering to the mainstream as they gear up to go against State Farm, Allstate, Geico, USAA, Farmers, Progressive, Liberty Mutual, so rehashing auction house press releases for the wow factor will always be front and center.

    The real story about the above car and its first owner overlooked for money talk better suited for Kiplingers or the Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition.

[RG440]

Every metallic green Mopar I ever owned I turned into my winter beater. I can picture this thing with period correct snow tires on it with a scarf tied to the wing…

[Snailish]

There are some cool pictures out there of wing cars in the real world. To have been a kid in the early 70s and remember those standouts...

[Gary_Bechtold]

I very much like the color on this car. Stupid crazy money for sure.

[bugmoto]

Most ridiculous/hideous muscle car ......ever.

[CTK]

It wasn't made for looks. They actually got a car that was otherwise the shape of a Dodge Charger, to have the drag coefficient of a Corvette of that era. I say nice work....

[Lash]

Yah...not everyone gets it.

[FloridaMarty]

Great car, stupid money. I miss the days when there wasn't so much greed.

[SJ]

That green interior upsets my stomach, the green exterior really doesn't give that awesome car its due.

[phog]

That Green is the one we all remember from that era and I love it. It screams Mopar. The all-business hub caps are a refreshing original item too.

[mfp4073]

Love the green interior. Any color other than black is a step up these days.

[BossGreg]

For me the green makes it my favorite one and a standout and seems the sale reiterates that. I've seen far too many color change cars that used to be green. Never understood buying a car you didn't appreciate the original color and far too many times selling it after they changed(ruined) it. Plenty of original bright color Mopars available if wanted.

[pinballjim]

It's a VERY cool car for sure but what the camera does NOT show is the underside of this car. It's not pretty. Rare? Yes. Valuable? Yes. 1.3 MIL? I suppose SOMEONE thinks so (apparently two people).

What does a person do with a 1.3 million dollar car with a driver quality (at best) underside? You gonna risk DRIVING that? I couldn't do it. You're a better person than me. I'd be too scared.

[Snailish]

Let's pretend I am the silly person that has 1.3 million to buy this car. (laughs... even my dreams aren't that out there).

I totally risk driving it. My kids get picked up from school in it. I grab a bag of ready-mix from Home Depot with it. To me, a 1.3 million dollar Daytona is fueled on the tears of those that think it should be locked away.*

*and those people don't need to fear me ever owning any Daytona. Maybe a 4-door satellite...

[Mbhcid]

When I was in high school back in the mid 70’s one of the kids had a lime green version of this car that his father bought for him. I thought then, and still think, it’s about the ugliest car ever, but I know many will disagree.

Anyway, he was one of those kids who thought he was too cool for school, and so while everyone else was attending science class he was out doing burnouts on “tobacco road”.
I remember looking out the window thinking he had it made… cool car, chicks, and he didn’t have to attend class like the rest of us.

I’m quite sure that car is long out of his possession, or he destroyed it.

Fast forward, and I often think about that kid, who likely never graduated, and wonder where he is now. Wherever he is, he must kick himself every time he sees the numbers they’re getting for these cars.

[Dad_jokes]

Am I the only one who finds it weird you often think about some kid from HS whose name you don’t know, and you aren’t sure if he graduated or not?
Although, your post made me think of the Moody Blues “Your Wildest Dreams”.

[Mbhcid]

You may find it “weird”… but after almost 50 years can you really expect me to remember every kid in my 400+ graduating class? I remember the car, not the kid. And, how could I possibly know if he graduated or not?
Again, I remember the car not the kid. But I’m just guessing based on his lack of attendance.

Anyway, troll on my friend.

[DougS]

Agreed, it sure wasn't built for looks. It's way over-the-top looks wise, the normal Charger is way better looking. It was manufactured with a purpose. The nose and humungous spoiler were needed so that the aerodynamic set-up could be raced at NASCAR. Dodge had to produce and sell to the public a minimum of 500 cars in the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona configuration in order to qualify. As stated in the above article, they produced 503, just enough to qualify.

[Snailish]

My understanding is you need to be going Nascar speeds to even get benefit from the giant spoiler.

Other than the benefit of super coolness that is!

[Buzz]

Crazy that in 1969, a little female school teacher made a $1.3M decision sitting in a Dodge dealership.

I’m not big on F8 green. Apparently she was!

[Casey]

Nice article, Conner. I streamed the Mecum auction and enjoyed watching this car.
My 69 survivor Barracuda is the same beautiful color. I like the insurance payment!

[Inline8OD]

How do we know she was "little," her age, or any of the real story in the above homage to money alone?

[Uncle_Doug]

I understand the aerodynamic benefits of the (hideous) nose and (grotesque) spoiler, and the allure of the (mystical, fabulous) Hemi engine......but the price paid for this car is, in my opinion, inversely proportional to its appearance.

[DHR]

Never understood why they never came with nicer rims.

[Snailish]

They knew the target audience was going to "day 2" it with custom rims.

Today... I'd pay extra for dog dish hub caps on my commuter.

[TG]

Poor car. That thing was made to go really really fast, and it will be lucky to tick off 100 miles driving across auction blocks

[RoadDog]

Man, why weren't there any English teachers like Ms. Harper when I was in High School?

[Lex]

I recall that back then the British dismissed such cars as over-powered and under-braked.

[Dad_jokes]

Personally, I find it as unappealing today as it was when new. Teenaged me loved the winged cars, but near-50 me would prefer that same drivetrain in an RT/SE.
Significant car, no doubt. Just not my cup of coffee.

[Ironworker1955]

I’d much rather have a bright colored one from Mr Norms Grand Spaulding Dodge Super performance package !🇱🇷

[acooper529]

Worked for a Dodge dealer back then and saw these cars when new. Yawn.
IMO This has nothing to do with motor vehicles and more to do with wealthy individuals chasing something that they may have missed in life with stupid money. Call for counseling ASAP!
I suggest that the average car enthusiast try to AVOID reading this crap, period.
This has nothing at all to do with the pursuit of restoring and/ or just driving the older cars that many of us continue to follow. And... it's not Hagerty's fault that this continues.

[68Bay]

Interesting that the astronomical dollars achieved almost never go to the original owner-understandable of course, rarely does anyone retain something bought more than half a century ago….and problematic to even be still kicking today if they did….
In the rare instances they do-I find THAT story much more entertaining, and the driver of “wish I still had that or had bought that and kept it” fantasies.
Here’s mine….as a 10 year old in 1968, living in the Bay Area of California, as my Pop and Mom car shopped at the Capitol Ave dealerships…I found myself entranced by a incredibly orange car with a huge wing on the back and a funny looking nose in the showroom of the Dodge dealer. My 10 year old self tried to convince my folks to buy it….of course with no success, we went home that evening with a 4 door Buick LaSabre, goldish brown in color. I still kid my 92 year old Mom (Dad is gone many moons now) about her missed opportunity!

[margozp]

I also felt that the real story about this Daytona was about the original owner Pat who reminded me of my 6th grade teacher who drove a 67 4sp Barracuda, both of these gals are aces in my book.

I'm a Pontiac fan but I would love to have had both a supper bird and a daytona in my garage. These cars still hold up in my view of what automotive engineering could do to push the speed barriers....I actually love the body lines, the huge nose and the wing! It reminds me of a Phantom F4

My 2 cents 🙂