Sam Krahn 
In the late 1960s, Dodge was struggling to keep up with the competition in NASCAR racing. Their second generation Dodge Charger was a competent street muscle car, but it lacked the speed on the track. To fix this, the team slapped on a nose cone and added a massive rear wing. The result? The Dodge Charger Daytona was born. It ended up being the first NASCAR to hit 200 miles per hour, hugely successful in its short lifetime, and is now one of the most valuable classic muscle cars.
So modifying one seems like a cardinal sin, right? That’s up for you to decide, but Gateway Classic Cars in Illinois has a heavily modified Daytona for sale, for the high price of $297,500. The car in question is chassis number 169 of only 311 ’69 Charger Daytona Fastops ever made. It’s one of three known surviving Daytona’s painted in A4 Silver with a black Daytona stripe. It’s already in great condition, but the modifications are what make it stand out.
Sometime in this Daytona’s life, the original 425 hp Hemi engine was replaced with a 542 cubic inch Hemi engine. It has since been dyno tested and rated at 635 hp. If the original car could hit 200, this could be a whole new ball game.
The modifications don’t stop at the powertrain, though. The Hostchkis suspension lowered the car 2 inches front and 1 inch in the rear, and it’s paired with custom Bilstein shocks. Disc brakes with ceramic pads are also at all four wheels.
While this is an expensive Dodge Charger Daytona, it looks to be in perfect shape, as the seller notes. It’s also one of the most unique Daytona’s out there- few are upgraded to this level, and few are this color. And it could even be considered a bit of a bargain. The most expensive Daytona ever sold for $900,000, making this a third of the price.
