Featured here is an American muscle car icon, the 1971 Dodge Charger. With sporty and sleek styling and a lot of power under the hood, the Dodge Charger was built to get attention. The car offered great styling with the power to match.
The Dodge Charger was positioned as a premium midsize car based on the popular Dodge Coronet. Dodge Chargers were a mid-size two-door car (1966-78), a subcompact car (1983-87), and the full-size platform four-door sedans built since 2006. As a side note, the very first Charger was a show car in 1964.
The third generation of Dodge Chargers covered the years 1971 to 1974.
The first Dodge Charger in the 1966 model year was a big car. At 203.6 inches long it was a full 22 inches longer than a 1966 Ford Mustang. The 1971 Dodge Chargers like the one shown here were resized. The 1971 Dodge Chargers had a 2 inch shorter wheelbase and an overall length 3 inches shorter. The top of the performance 1971 model was the Charger R/T with its standard 440 Magnum V-8rated at a big 370 HP.
The sales and acceptance of these first Dodge Chargers were so good that Chrysler Corporation hesitated to make any design changes. The changes made in the first generation Chargers were basically insignificant.
Dodge Charger Vs. Dodge Challenger
Dodge introduced their Challenger model in 1970. The Challenger offered buyers the same high powered engines available with the Charger but with a somewhat lighter body. So basically, Dodge sold power in a heavier sleek Charger as well as with a nimble Challenger.
While the Challenger was Dodge’s effort to compete directly against the Camaro and Mustang, the new model entered the pony car party a bit late. It was just around 1970 that the pony car market started to decline. The pony car market began when Ford came out with the highly successful Mustang. Plymouth introduced it’s Barracuda about the same time so by 1970 the pony car race was about six years old.
1971 Dodge Charger Specifications
The 1971 Dodge Charger came with a choice of five engines. One Inline Six and four V-8’s. A 225 cubic inch six delivering 145 HP. A 318 cubic inch V-8, 383 cubic inch V-8, a 440 cubic inch V-8 and a 426 cubic inch Hemi.. Horsepower on the V-8’s ranged from 230 to 425.
The transmission that went along with the 1971 Charger models was a standard three speed manual transmission or an optional three speed “Torqueflite” automatic.
Built on a 115.0 inch wheelbase, overall outside length was 205.4 inches, and width 76.9 inches, height 52.6 inches. Weight was about 3,690 lbs.
Dodge produced 550,000 vehicles in 1971. Out of that figure about 82,100 were Chargers.
Related Auto Museum Online articles are found on the links below…
Reference material for this article includes…Supercars: The Story of the Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth SuperBird by author Frank Moriarty…The Complete Book of Classic Dodge and Plymouth Muscle: Every Model from 1960 to 1974 by author Mike Mueller..Complete Book of Collectible Cars by the Editors of Consumer Guide.
1971 Dodge Charger Collector Car
The Dodge Charger is and has been a top collector car for decades. Those models that were produced prior to the federal emissions and safety regulations of 1971-72 have some of the highest values.
The 1971 Charger was a part of the car’s third generation but was not truly affected by the new federal emission and safety regulations. In fact, Charger’s third generation began with performance options that were just about identical as what was offered the previous year. The 71 Charger’s most powerful engine was the 426 cubic inch Hemi.with two 4 barrel carburetors and 425 HP. With this Hemi the Charger was rated at 5.7 seconds 0-60.
Current price ranges for available 1971 Dodge Charger examples are found in a very wide range. All the way from $30,000 to about $200,000. Exact model (R/T, SE), engine configuration, mileage, degree and age of restoration and of course condition dictates asking prices.
(Article and photos copyright Auto Museum Online)