The Dodge Challenger was the last entrant into the pony car field in 1970, more than five years after the Plymouth Barracuda set the stage (beating the Ford Mustang to market by 16 days). Dodge built more than 165,000 Challengers before exiting the space after 1974. This ’71 Challenger looks to have been stored for years and was recently cleaned up and is ready for a new owner. Located in Rancho Santa Margarita, this Butterscotch-painted Dodge is available here on craigslist for $30,000. Thanks for this Mopar tip, T.J.!
An interesting theory says the Challenger came about because Plymouth wanted the Barracuda to get its own platform in 1970. Two cars sharing the new E-Body would make more financial sense for Chrysler than just one. Whatever the case, it came out of the gate strong at nearly 77,000 copies but faded quickly after that. Declining demand can be traced to the pullback that was occurring in the muscle car space, which accounted for a lot of the Challengers and Barracudas that were built. Dodge managed 26,300 Challengers in 1971, of which almost 19,000 were V8-powered hardtops.
The most interesting aspect of this Dodge – besides its nice condition once it’s cleaned up – is its color: Butterscotch, a goldish hue that was applied to only 5.5% of Challengers that year. If that’s the case, only about 1,500 copies left the factory that way and this one has a black vinyl top and interior to go along with it. We’re told it’s a one-owner car that picked up no rust while it was gathering dirt and grime in the garage/carport where it seemed to live for several years. The odometer reading at 76,000 which could be accurate.
This is not one of the fire-breathing Challengers that had their last hurrah in 1971. The Dodge has a 230 hp, 318 cubic-inch V8, and TorqueFlite automatic transmission. We don’t know what it may have taken to bring the car back up to snuff, but the seller says it runs and drives great now. If you agree with Hagerty that one of the more basic Challengers for ’71 is worth about $28,000 today, then the seller has priced his car in believable territory.
In this case,rare does not equal desirable.
Not a very flattering color on this.
Nice original condition. I don’t mind the color. Would look even better with good detail though, especially under the hood.
Now I know why all Challengers seem to be 1 of ….. They didn’t make very many of them.
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Not wanting to spend my child’s inheritance on one fire breathing car, I’m a big fan of pony cars like this one with average V-8’s. I would make the engine breath better and enjoy the twisty turns in the backroads, as opposed to a front heavy big block. Burnouts are too expensive these days anyway.
These were not decent handling cars, especially in the corners. They could be modded to get decent cornering, but this is asking a lot of money for what is essentially a low level Challenger. YMMV. I ended up giving my Challenger away for free, it was really an unsafe car, especially on a wet road.
The biggest problem with these 318 cars are they have all the underpinnings of the six cyl. cars. smaller brakes, weaker transmissions and rears , suspension piece K member, springs, etc.
True, but all those things fit a 318 well. The 318 really was the sweet spot being a six and a big block. Had many, they never let me down.
I had a 318 in a 71 Duster and it did most definitely let me down……….
Every time I hit the gas pedal.I’ll take the 565 Hemi in my 64 Sport Fury and somehow try to come up with the scratch for gas and tires.
Point of clarification, I frequently see Challengers & Barracudas referred to as pony cars. Having owned a 70 Challenger & a 70 Chevelle, & many Camaros, I consider it more comparable to a Chevelle, not a Camaro or Mustang. Wouldn’t the Duster be closer to the pony car moniker?
To me, pony car means long hood & short rear deck. I’m not sure if the 21st century Challenger or even the modern Camaro are pony cars, since their hoods are so short compared to their old counterparts!
My view is that the muscle cars ran on the intermediate platform and the pony cars were half a size below this. Obviously as time went on the pony cars grew, but essentially they remained in the same class, just the class size grew. So Charger, GTX etc. would be the muscle and the Challenger & Cuda the pony class.
Based only on the pictures here on BF (I didn’t get to see the Craigslist ad), I think the asking price was fair.
I am not a huge fan of the color, but I could live with it. A 318 isn’t a powerhouse either, but I am in my 50’s now, I have grown up to the point where I don’t need to tear up the streets. 25-30 years ago, this would have been a disappointment to me. As soon as I cut off the ponytail, I started to mature lol.
Nice cruiser!