Charger Daytona vs Plymouth Superbird: winged warriors

The Dodge Charger Daytona and the Plymouth Superbird are Chrysler's two "aero cars", built for one purpose: to win at speed on NASCAR's superspeedways. Both carry a pointed nose cone and a towering rear wing, and both were sold to the public only because the rules demanded it. The Daytona came first, as a limited 1969 model, after the Charger 500 had failed to beat Ford on the track. The Superbird followed for 1970 only, on the Plymouth Road Runner body, and Wikipedia records the claim that it was built to bring Richard Petty back to Plymouth.

In short: the Daytona is the rarer car, with 503 built for the United States, and the one that first broke 200 mph in NASCAR. The Superbird is the refined second attempt, built in far larger numbers, and it won more races. Both are covered in our catalogue: Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird.

Charger Daytona vs Superbird: bodies, engines and race record

Same idea, different base cars

The Daytona is based on the 1969 Dodge Charger. Its sheet-metal nose cone replaces the upright grille and adds 18 inches (457 mm) to the front, and its stabiliser wing stands 23 inches (584 mm) above the rear deck. Rear fender scoops on the Daytona vented trapped air from the wheel arches.

The Superbird starts from the smaller Road Runner. Plymouth smoothed and refined both the body and the nose, and the nose with pop-up headlights adds nineteen inches to the Road Runner's length. Its rear fender scoops were cosmetic on road cars. The finished Superbird is 5,613 mm long and weighs 1,742 kg at the kerb.

Engines

Both cars used the same Chrysler big-blocks. The Daytona's standard engine was the 440 Magnum with 280 kW (375 hp) and 651 Nm (480 lb-ft); the 426 Hemi with 317 kW (425 hp) was fitted to only 70 of the 503 cars. The Superbird's base 440 Super Commando also had 280 kW (375 hp). Plymouth added the 440 Six Barrel with three two-barrel carburettors and 291 kW (390 hp), fitted to 716 cars by the most cited count, and the 426 Hemi, which went into about 135.

• Charger Daytona (1969): 503 US cars plus 40 for Canada, 70 with the Hemi
• Superbird (1970): about 1,935 for US dealers, 716 Six Barrels, about 135 Hemis
• Wing height: 23 inches on the Daytona

Why the numbers differ

NASCAR tightened its homologation rule for 1970. Instead of a few hundred cars, a maker had to build one car for every two of its dealers in the United States, which meant 1,920 Superbirds for Plymouth. The generally accepted figure is 1,935 shipped to US dealers. The styling proved too extreme for many buyers, and some Superbirds were still unsold on dealer lots in 1972.

On the track

An engineering Daytona was timed at 205 mph (330 km/h) at the Chelsea proving grounds in Michigan on 20 July 1969. On 24 March 1970 Buddy Baker became the first NASCAR driver to lap at more than 200 mph (322 km/h), at Talladega, in a Chrysler Engineering Daytona. The Daytona won six NASCAR races, two in 1969 and four in 1970. The Superbird won eight, all in 1970, and Richard Petty won 18 of the 40 races he entered that year.

The end of the aero cars

For 1971 NASCAR limited aero cars to engines of 305 cubic inches or forced them to carry extra weight, which made them uncompetitive. Rising emission rules and insurance costs also weighed on high-performance cars. Neither model returned.