All good things must come to an end, as the saying goes, and in the case of the Dodge Daytona and its partnership with Carroll Shelby, the brand partnership reached its conclusion in 1991. When this happened, Dodge navigated a nomenclature transition where the vehicles born of the partnership, like this Dayona, wore new graphics tied to the company’s sponsorship of the International Race of Champions (IROC) while retaining all of the mechanical upgrades performed by Shelby’s team. Find this transition year model Daytona listed here on craigslist for $3,500.
The branding really isn’t all that important to most enthusiasts other than the novelty of being able to call your car a “transition” year model. However, the IROC sponsorship is a reminder that the major OEMs used to pay a lot more attention to racing and other activities that were highly enthusiast-driven as a means of reaching potential customers. It’s sad to see most of the automotive brands outside of the premier sports car manufacturers avoid any association with motorsports, but that’s also a sign of the times. Chrysler was actually one of the more ambitious brands when it came to highlighting its connection to competitive driving events, and the IROC partnership is a reminder of this.
Now, the Daytona may not be the best template for signaling how much your company supported motorsports and amateur competition, especially when saddled with an automatic transmission. But Shelby was still working his magic on Dodge’s front wheel drive pony car, and this one features the preferred engine of the two that were available, the 2.5L “High Torque” engine. The ultimate setup is with the standard 5-speed manual gearbox, however, so the automatic in this example will likely limit interest.
Ironically, the optional 3.0L V6 is likely a better choice for the automatic transmission rather than a 90s turbocharged engine with peaky power delivery. The turbocharged engine option produced a little over 150 b.h.p. and an extremely healthy 210 lb.-ft. of torque, so you’re still going to move briskly in traffic with this engine. The bodywork appears sound but has the typical peeling paint that Chrysler vehicles were notorious for in the 90s, and the seller notes a few other issues, namely an odometer that stopped working and now likely shows over 210,000 miles. Is it worth the $3,500 asking price? Thanks to Barn Finds reader Curvette for the tip.
This is located in the same city as the Mopar restorer with the TV show, I guess these haven’t yet reached the level of collectibility required for him to do a restoration.
Steve R
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