Car: Dodge Super Bee
Year: 1969
What makes it special: The Super Bee was a muscle car marketed by Dodge, produced for the 1968 through 1971 model years. The original Dodge Super Bee was based on the Dodge Coronet two-door coupe, and was produced from 1968 until 1970. It was Dodge’s low-priced powerful muscle car and a rebadged version of the Plymouth Road Runner. The origin of the name, “Super Bee”, has its basis in the “B-Body designation given to Chrysler’s mid-sized cars, including the Road Runner and Charger. Senior designer, Harvey J. Winn, won a “contest” with the name “Super Bee” and a new logo design based on the Dodge “Scat Pack” Bee medallion.
What made it famous: The Super Bee was available with the Hemi engine. This option raised the price by 33%, and only 125 were sold. Two engine options were the base 335 hp 383 Magnum, and the 426 Hemi, rated at 425 hp. The Super Bee included a heavy-duty suspension, an optional Mopar A833 4-speed manual transmission, and high-performance tires. Outside, a stripe with the bee logo was wrapped around the tail. A hardtop version joined the existing pillared coupe body in 1969 and a new optional twin-scooped air induction hood, the “Ramcharger”, became available. This particular option was coded N-96 and was the counterpart to the Plymouth Road Runner’s “Coyote Duster” air induction hood. The “Ramcharger” hood featured forward-facing scoops. A “Six-pack” with three 2-barrel Holley Carburetors version of Dodge’s 440 cu in V8 was added to the offering list mid-year, rated at 390 hp. The option code for this was A12.
Why I would want one: It’s one of the most badass looking performance models of the late 1960’s.
Fun fact: The Super Bee model name was resurrected for the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2013 Dodge Charger Super Bee models.
