Introduced in late-1969 for the 1970 model year, the Challenger was brought to market from Dodge to compete against the premium pony car efforts from Ford (Mercury Cougar) and General Motors (Pontiac Firebird). While late to the pony car race, the Challenger like its cheaper Barracuda sibling could be fitted with almost any of Chrysler’s engines of the day.
The upper echelon of the 1970 Dodge Challenger lineup, was the HEMI-powered Challenger R/T. The 7.0-liter (426 cubic-inch) HEMI V8 engine produced 425 horsepower and 490 lb.-ft. (664 Nm) of torque and while it was dominant on the street, there were only 287 examples built for the 1970 model year. Among them, 150 of those examples were mated with the A727 3-speed automatic transmission, just like this one.
Equipped with the awesome “Shaker” hood, this Challenger is painted in its original Plum Crazy (FC7) exterior color and features white longitudinal striping. Inside, there is a Black interior featuring bucket seats, a console with ball-knob Slap Stik shifter and wood-grain finish, an AM radio with rear speaker, and a Rallye dash with tachometer.
Outside are R/T and 426 HEMI trim tags, dual exhaust tips, a flip-open gas cap, hood pins, and Rallye wheels with F60-15 Goodyear Polyglas GT tires.
This beautiful example is set to cross the Mecum Indy auction block on Saturday, May 21st. Mecum estimates that the car should bring in $325,000 to $375,000 once it crosses the block. Listed as LOT #S157, you can visit the dedicated Mecum page for the car for more information and pictures, or even bid on it.
1970 Dodge Challenger HEMI R/T Image Gallery:
