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Dodge has produced three separate vehicles with the name, Dodge Daytona. The name is taken from Daytona Beach, Florida, which was an early center for auto racing and still hosts the Daytona 500, one of NASCAR's premier events.
1960s
The original Dodge Daytona was a very high-performance, limited-edition of the Dodge Charger. It was produced briefly in the late sixties, mainly to qualify its outrageous bodywork to compete on the NASCAR racing circuit. The Daytona was a winner on the track, but changes in NASCAR rules made its competitive life very brief. It had a corporate cousin in the Plymouth Superbird. Both are now rare and valuable collectibles.
1970s
The name was later used in the 70's for a sporty submodel of the Charger (luxury versions were badged Charger SE). Both versions shared the bodyshell of the Chrysler Cordoba.
1984
Still later, in the 80's, Dodge issued another Daytona model, a front wheel drive coupe based on the Chrysler K platform, along with a twin, the Chrysler Laser. The series was referred to as G-Body because they use Chrysler's AG platform. Although these later cars were sold as having sporting pretentions, neither was anywhere near the performance league of the original. This Daytona used the 2.2 liter Chrysler K engine in normally-aspirated (93hp) or turbocharged (142hp) form. The 96hp 2.5 liter K engine was added for 1986.
1987
The 1987 Charger was restyled with pop-up headlights and gained a Shelby Z trim with a Turbo II version of the 2.5 liter Chrysler K engine. A more luxury-oriented Pacifica trim line was also added, and the Chrysler Laser was dropped. In 1990, a 3.0 liter SOHC V6 from Mitsubishi was made available. 1991 saw the addition of an IROC model with the turbo 2.5 engine, and the 2.2 liter engine was dropped.
1992
This restyling replaced the pop-up headlights with rounded ones, along with a new grille and tail. The IROC got the 3.0 liter Mitsubishi V6 as its standard engine, and a new IROC R/T version got a 224hp Turbo III version of the 2.5 liter Chrysler K engine. Production of the later Daytona model ended on March 17, 1993 at the Sterling Heights, Michigan assembly plant, and the new Dodge Avenger replaced it in the Dodge lineup.
See also
The other "aero cars" of 1967-71 NASCAR:
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