The “Duke & Duchess” 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona Could Be Yours!

With the introduction of the 2023 Dodge Charger King Daytona “Last Call” edition, many younger Mopar fans were exposed to William “Big Willie” Robinson for the first time. At 6’6″ tall and 300 lbs, Robinson was a big man with a big heart who was known for his efforts at healing the Los Angeles community after the infamous Watts riots of 1965. His method was simple and effective: bringing people of diverse and even opposing backgrounds together through drag racing.

In the late-1960s, Big Willie and his wife, Tomiko, founded the International Brotherhood of Street Racers. Along with his creation of the “Brotherhood Raceway”, a drag racing facility located at Terminal Island in the Los Angeles port district. 

Willie and Tomiko presided over the Brotherhood in a matching pair of 1969 Dodge Charger Daytonas known simply as the “King” and “Queen” Daytona. With both cars out of commission by the early-1970s, the racing couple purchased a third Charger Daytona, known as “The Duke and Duchess.” That car would compete until the late-1970s when it was parked for the next 30 years. 

In 2002, Robinson sold the car to Gary French, a Kentucky car collector. The car would make appearances at various Mopar events over the few years before he would sell the car to jean-designer and car collector Donwan Harrell. Harrell would go on and sell the car to Corey Owens in Minnesota, who would end up restoring the car to its current condition.

Gone is the all-aluminum Keith Black HEMI that powered the car down the strip in the 70s. Instead, a 7.2-liter (440 cubic-inch) MAGNUM V8 and TorqueFlite automatic transmission, serve as the method of propulsion for this once-famed drag racer. Owens would recreate the car’s original racing paint scheme, by first applying Bright Red (R4) paint and covering it with the same shade of Cream painted by Robinson. The car also features hand-lettered graphics that accurately recreate the original markings of its glory days.

The car is believed to be the only remaining one of the three Daytonas owned by the Robinsons still left. Now, it is going up for auction at the 2023 Mecum Kissimmee event later this month. Mecum says that the car could fetch $300,000 to $400,000 once it crosses the block.

The Robinson Daytona is scheduled to cross the block on Friday, January 13th. For more information and photos, or to find out details about the bidding process, you can visit Mecum.com.

Hopefully, some diehard Mopar collector can make this awesome piece of Mopar history a part of their collection.

“The Duke and Duchess” Dodge Charger Daytona Image Gallery:

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