1968 Dodge Coronet Police Car Comes Out of Retirement To Drag Race With Hellcat V8

That's when the Chrysler Corporation created the Coronet 230 Pursuit. Powered by the 315-cubic-inch (5.2-liter) Red Ram V8 rated 230 as standard, it also came with the 260-horsepower Super Red Ram mill at extra cost. It also set the benchmark for Pursuit cars fitted with heavy-duty features, including brakes and suspension.

Chrysler wasn't the only Detroit giant providing police cars at the time. Ford and General Motors had also jumped on the bandwagon. However, Dodge became a police department favorite for its affordability and powerful engines. And the Coronet remained the Pursuit-spec car of choice until the nameplate was discontinued in 1976.

The 1960s iterations were particularly favored by hot-rodders once decommissioned. Ask any gearhead that worked on muscle cars back in the day, and they will share stories about hunting Coronet Pursuits in junkyards. Everyone was after the heavy-duty parts and especially the so-called "cop motors." And that's also why most muscle-car era Pursuit Mopars haven't survived to see 2023 with their original internals intact.

But fortunately enough, some were saved and rebuilt with period-correct components or upgraded to modern drivetrains. The 1968 Coronet you see here is one of those cars. And the fact that the owner chose to transform it into a dragster makes it even more special. As does the fact that a Hellcat engine replaced the old big-block V8.

While 1960s police cars are easy to replicate, this 1968 Coronet Pursuit is authentic, according to its owner, Paul Terlosky. Not only that, but it still retains much of its original Pursuit equipment, including the roof-mounted lights and siren and the Motorola radio unit. And, of course, the exterior was restored in the familiar black-and-white livery.

But everything under the shell was altered for quarter-mile duty. The supercharged, 6.2-liter Hellcat engine now breathes through side-exiting exhaust pipes and spins the meaty rear wheels through an 8 3/4 rear end. A set of beefed-up leaf springs keep the back end up in the air. How powerful is the Hellcat mill? That's a piece of info the video doesn't provide, but the crate engine packs 707 horsepower, enough for quick runs down the quarter-mile.

How quick, you ask? Well, the footage below shows the Mopar hitting the line in 13.95 seconds. That's a bit slow given the firepower, but the 67.5-mph (108.6-kph) trap speed hints that the driver hit the brakes early. However, our host points out that Paul's best run during the event was 12.17 seconds at almost 90 mph (145 kph). The 1968 Coronet Pursuit was caught on tape at the 2022 Hot Rod Drag Week at Byron Dragway. Hit the play button below to watch it hit the strip with the red lights on.