The 1968-70 Dodge Charger crammed a lot into its three seasons on sale, becoming both a movie car chase icon and the first NASCAR racer to top 200 mph (320 km/h). But the one thing it never was, at least not officially, was a convertible.
You could buy a convertible version of the Dodge Coronet, the Charger’s less glamorous brother, and even equip it with the same big-power 426- and 440 cu-in V8s. But the second-generation Charger was only ever available from the factory as a coupe.
There’s no doubt that a drop-top Charger would have appealed to some muscle car buyers, though as this aftermarket-converted convertible shows, losing the roof might have meant losing the Charger’s coupe’s distinctive flying buttress C-pillars and recessed rear window that was one of the key styling differences between it and Chrysler’s other B-body muscle cars of the period.
Fortunately, this modded ’68 for sale on Hemmings has retained the other important detail that was exclusive to that year’s Charger, the six round taillights, though it’s less original on the inside, which has succumbed to the Pro Touring makeover that was popular 15 years ago but doesn’t look so hot today. One upgrade we can all appreciate, however, is the 7.2-liter 440 V8, which occupies the space where a diddy 318 cu-in (5.2-liter) motor once lived.
Related: Dodge Charger Daytona Is Longer Than BMW X7, Heavier Than Cadillac Escalade ESV!
Do you think Dodge should have built one of these in period, maybe with a cleverly designed folding soft-top like the ones fitted to Ferrari’s late 1990s and early ’00s convertibles that featured Charger coupe-like recessed rear window styling? And more importantly, do you think it should build a convertible version of the all-new 2024 Charger Daytona EV and its ICE-powered Charger brother that arrives six months later?
Dodge hasn’t confirmed a convertible is coming, and let’s not forget that it waited until close to the end of the Challenger’s long 15-year run before announcing a convertible version of that – and then it was farmed out to an outside contractor, Drop Top customs. But since the Charger Daytona SRT concept was revealed in 2022, various enterprising digital artists have presented their idea of what a Charger convertible could look like. Reckon Dodge should built it? Or is the 5,838 lbs (2,648 kg) EV already fat enough in coupe form?