I once had a dream. A petrolhead’s dream. I was on an island in the middle of the sea. And there were multiple race tracks on that island. And there endless garages and museums filled with all the coolest cars ever built: two of each. Like on an ark of some kind. And I could drive any car I wanted to. Sounds a bit like Assetto Corsa, doesn’t it?
I’d still like to see something like that with my own eyes today. Just imagine a building containing all the glorious muscle cars to ever hit the market. Can you imagine how much time it would take to figure out what kind of cars should be added to that collection and then bring them in? Cost-wise it wouldn’t be too easy either, but I’m guessing that if a couple of billionaires all pitch in on the idea, it might be viable. Sort of like a Disneyland for petrolheads.
And if that idea ever came to life, I can only hope that there’s going to be a Dodge Coronet Super Bee in the mix as well. Some say this Super Bee is a forgotten muscle car. I imagine that the late ’60s must have felt like Muscle Car heaven, with so many options on the market. And the 1968 Dodge Coronet Super Bee was particularly special with its 426 cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI V8, as only 125 units were built that year.
It was rated for 425 horsepower and 490 lb-ft (664 Nm) of torque, a respectable figure even by today’s standards. And the car we’re looking at today is using that exact same engine. It may be more than half a century old now, but thanks to a high-end, frame-off restoration it looks almost brand new, and its odometer only shows 16,217 miles (26,098 km). The seller will be providing $110,000 worth of restoration receipts along with the car.
Photo: Street Side Classics
Although the Dodge Coronet Super Bee fitted with a 426 HEMI is a rare car, to begin with, this one is even more so, as it has the optional Torqueflite automatic transmission on it. The seller notes that this could mean that this could be 1 out of less than 100 of these cars that were ever built. That might have you thinking twice before pushing this thing to its limits at the track. According to the story, this car was initially ordered by a drag racer from the Indianapolis area.
After some abuse back in the day, it sounds like the original engine might have blown up about a decade after it left the factory. It was sent over to a shop to be repaired, but the original owner sold the car while keeping hold of the racing wheels and tires. That means that this car has probably spent a few decades on jack stands, waiting for someone to bring it back to life.
The most interesting part is that it seems that the chassis and the engine were reunited after all those years, but I feel that you should do a bit more digging on the subject if you’re genuinely interested in adding this to your garage. Also, in the video provided by the seller, the engine sounds a bit strange, but that may be due to the quality of the audio recording. The car is currently located in Phoenix, Arizona, and the asking price is $154,995. Sounds like 2018 Dodge Demon money to me, if you need an alternative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYSvVlsjjy8