Tuesday, July 7, 2015

The Original Hellcat, the Coronet Super Bee 440 Six Pack

BOLD RIDE

 
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At the height of the original muscle car wars during the late 1960s to early 1970s, Chrysler was a force to be reckoned with. Between the Charger, Challenger, Barracuda, and Daytona, Chrysler constantly kept Ford and Chevy on their heels. Both the 440ci “Six Pack” V8 and the 427ci Hemi V8 engines were integral to Chrysler’s muscle car campaign, and the company stuffed these massive V8’s into nearly everything they could. Including this Coronet.

The Coronet started life as a mid-size entry for Chrysler, but with the help from a few different engine options, quickly became a muscle car in its own right. This particular Coronet, however, is something special–a Super Bee. The 440 Six Pack this car has lurking under its hood makes 390 horsepower and is sent to the rear wheels via a 4 speed Dana 60 3.54 rear end giving it unbridled performance in its day. Because of this Coronet’s special engine and options, this particular car has become very rare and very collectable.

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According to Chrysler themselves, this 1970 440-Six Pack Dodge Super Bee 2 Door Hard Top, is only one of 599 manual transmission Super Bee Coronets ever built. It’s also the only Super Bee Coronet to be painted white in 1970. This rarity greatly increases the value of the car. That said, it’s current price of $99,900 from RK Motors Charlotte is a bit over zealous in its thinking. This is especially true since the market for these big muscle cars dropped out a few years ago. Currently, “condition one” cars, the best of the best, are trading hands for only around $50,000.

However, given this cars history, it’s recent frame-off restoration, and the extreme rarity of this cars options and engine choice, it’s definitely worth looking into if you want the pinnacle of 1970s muscle car technology and performance. But, you might want to haggle a bit.



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