In 1966, Dodge introduced its 2-door, luxury, personal sport entry known as the Charger. It was based on the experimental show car (the Charger II), but shared the same chassis and running gear as the Coronet. The front fenders, hood, and doors were common. Hidden headlamps and wall-to-wall taillights were among the car's new styling features. It also had an unusual dashboard-all major instruments were located in four hooded circles directly in front of the driver. Bucket seats were provided for the front passengers, and a full-length center console ran from the front to the back between the seats, thus making the back seats similar to buckets. These rear seats folded down to enlarge the trunk capacity. the first year it was offered only in a V-8. The base engine was the 230hp 318, but a 265hp 361 was available. Stepping up got you a 325hp 383 or the famous 425hp Hemi. The Hemi cost a hefty $500 more. in 1966, 37,344 Chargers were built.
In 1967, the Charger was basically unchanged, except for a new grille, inclusion of fender-top chrome strips with integral turn-signal indicators, and a vinyl roof (available as an option).
A big surprise for 1968 was the redesign of the Charger. The car featured new, subtler styling without the fastback roofline and wall-to-wall taillights. With what was to become known as the Coca-Cola body style, the car was drop-dead gorgeous. Over 96,000 Chargers were sold. Hidden headlamps remained in the grille with textured, horizontal chrome bars. Imitation scoops were stamped into the doors. the rear of the car featured four, circular, target-like taillights set within a cove. A small integral spoiler was crafted into the rear sheetmetal, and racing-car-type fuel filler adorned the left rear-quarter. The R/T model designation was now added to the Charger line for the performance version. The car wore a bumblebee stripe around its tail, and imitation hoodscoops that accommodated turn-signal indicators were part of the hood. The Charger was offered in two versions: standard and R/T. An array of engines was available for this year's Charger. The base engine for the Charger was the 318, but two versions of the 383 were optional: a two-barrel rated at 290 hp and a four-barrel rated at 330 hp. The R/T featured the 440 (375 hp) standard with an optional 425hp 426 Hemi. Sixteen striking colors were offered with three different color vinyl tops.
For the '69 model year, a restyled grille with a center nose, a full taillamp assembly, new side-marker lamps, and a new SE dcor group were added. Also new was the addition of the 225 Slant Six as the standard engine on the base Charger, or you could opt for the 318 or either version of the 383. The 440 and the 426 Hemi were only available in the R/T. Nearly 20,000 Charger R/Ts were built in 1969. Midyear saw the introduction of a new high-performance Charger-the 500 model. It was basically a NASCAR version to meet the race requirements. It featured the fixed headlamps and grille from the Coronet model, A-pillar covers for aerodynamics, and a flush-mount rear window. It was only available with a 440 or a Hemi. It cost $3,843.The car was released in January of 1969 to race at Daytona. not long after, the new Talladega and Mercury Cyclone were introduced. Not to be out done, Chrysler started work on the Daytona in January 1969. What was originally planned as a '70 model was rushed into production to meet the September deadline for the '69 model year. it debuted at Talladega. The Daytona Charger featured a nose cone for aerodynamics and a huge rear wing to stabilize the car at high speeds, to go along with the A-pillar covers and rear flush-mounted window. Just 505 were built. production R/Ts were shipped to Creative Industries, where they were modified at a rate of seven per day starting in early June. All 505 cars were built by the September date.