Photo: Bullet Motorsport
Bullet Motorsports is a dealer located in Dania Beach, Florida - they are the current caretakers of this in-your-face orange-over-orange first-gen Dodge Challenger R/T equipped with the fabled 426 Hemi V8.
Today, if you're lucky to find the one you like in a dealer's inventory, there are a few chances to catch a modern Dodge Challenger before it disappears into car Valhalla – potentially forever. At the behest of its parent Stellantis, Dodge ceased manufacturing the third-generation Challenger and seventh-generation L-bodied Charger in December 2023.
They did it to make way for the all-new first-ever eighth Dodge Charger Daytona all-electric models and Charger Sixpack variants equipped with the 3.0-liter inline-six twin-turbo Hurricane engine that's good for 420 or 550 horsepower to make the 500-hp Coyote V8-equipped 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse tremble in fear of the upcoming skirmishes at the local quarter-mile dragstrip. Because the new Charger is both a fastback coupe like in the old days and also a four-door sedan as per the new ways, Dodge couldn't keep the Challenger around anymore – and the nameplate is once again in limbo.
But that's a usual occurrence – the original Dodge Challenger was presented in the fall of 1969 as a 1970MY together with the similar Chrysler E-body-based Plymouth Barracuda to fight the Mercury Cougar and Pontiac Firebird in the higher echelon of the newly-introduced pony car sector. It only lived until 1974, though, with production ending midway through the model year after 165,437 first-generation Challengers were delivered to the market. The first revival occurred during the 1978 model year, but the second generation is not something Mopar fans want to remember or hold dear to their hearts – Dodge simply used a rebadged version of the initial Mitsubishi Galant Lambda coupe sold as a captive import with a small inline-four engine instead of the slant-six and V8 mills of the original.
The second resurrection took a very long time, of course, but the third generation sold between 2008 and 2023 is probably the quintessential Dodge Challenger for anyone wanting to experience the pony car atmosphere in a decidedly modern package. Of course, those who cherish the original most can always hunt for great first-generation Dodges like this one – even though we fear this one comes with a catch. So, this is a Hemi Orange over Burnt Orange 1970 Dodge Challenger equipped with the 426ci Hemi V8 that sat at the top of the lineup with 425 (SAE gross) or 350 (SAE net) horsepower and hooked to a four-speed manual transmission.
The car has just 253 miles on the odometer because it's a fresh restoration, and the big catch is you can't get a quotation right now because the Challenger is headed to Bring a Trailer for the classic seven-day auction procedure and the dealer doesn't want to put an MSRP so that potential customers don't catch the reserve figure. On the other hand, at least they offer financing and worldwide shipping options.
They did it to make way for the all-new first-ever eighth Dodge Charger Daytona all-electric models and Charger Sixpack variants equipped with the 3.0-liter inline-six twin-turbo Hurricane engine that's good for 420 or 550 horsepower to make the 500-hp Coyote V8-equipped 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse tremble in fear of the upcoming skirmishes at the local quarter-mile dragstrip. Because the new Charger is both a fastback coupe like in the old days and also a four-door sedan as per the new ways, Dodge couldn't keep the Challenger around anymore – and the nameplate is once again in limbo.
But that's a usual occurrence – the original Dodge Challenger was presented in the fall of 1969 as a 1970MY together with the similar Chrysler E-body-based Plymouth Barracuda to fight the Mercury Cougar and Pontiac Firebird in the higher echelon of the newly-introduced pony car sector. It only lived until 1974, though, with production ending midway through the model year after 165,437 first-generation Challengers were delivered to the market. The first revival occurred during the 1978 model year, but the second generation is not something Mopar fans want to remember or hold dear to their hearts – Dodge simply used a rebadged version of the initial Mitsubishi Galant Lambda coupe sold as a captive import with a small inline-four engine instead of the slant-six and V8 mills of the original.
The second resurrection took a very long time, of course, but the third generation sold between 2008 and 2023 is probably the quintessential Dodge Challenger for anyone wanting to experience the pony car atmosphere in a decidedly modern package. Of course, those who cherish the original most can always hunt for great first-generation Dodges like this one – even though we fear this one comes with a catch. So, this is a Hemi Orange over Burnt Orange 1970 Dodge Challenger equipped with the 426ci Hemi V8 that sat at the top of the lineup with 425 (SAE gross) or 350 (SAE net) horsepower and hooked to a four-speed manual transmission.
The car has just 253 miles on the odometer because it's a fresh restoration, and the big catch is you can't get a quotation right now because the Challenger is headed to Bring a Trailer for the classic seven-day auction procedure and the dealer doesn't want to put an MSRP so that potential customers don't catch the reserve figure. On the other hand, at least they offer financing and worldwide shipping options.
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