Bright Blue 1971 Dodge Charger Super Bee Ditches 383 CI V8 for Something Way More Powerful

Had it not been for the Road Runner’s success in terms of sales, it’s difficult to say whether or not Dodge would have gone ahead with a duplicate mid-size muscle car of their own.

Fun fact time: Did you know that the Super Bee moniker was also part of the Charger lineup? This only happened for the 1971 model year, and afterwards it was discontinued.

Dodge did this for the third-generation Charger, with its new sheet metal and new split grille design. Personally, I think the split grille on the third-gen Charger looks way better than the split grille (aka the bumble bee wings) on the actual 1970/71 Coronet Super Bee. Then again, the Charger is a better-looking car than the Coronet, period.

Anyway, the fact that the Super Bee spec Charger was only in production for a single model year, makes it kind of rare, in a way - and in turn, more desirable.

With that in mind, we just found this gorgeous 1971 example getting auctioned off to the highest bidder with no reserve. It’s got a Bright Blue Metallic exterior, plus all the high contrasting bits you’d want, from the black vinyl roof to the black Super Bee hood, side graphics, 440 Magnum emblems, hood pins, and the dual exhaust outlets with polished finishers.

We also like the 15-inch American Racing wheels with BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires, measuring 235/60 at the front and 255/60 at the rear.

Inside, you get the black vinyl front bucket seats and rear bench combo, replacement carpeting, woodgrain accents (dashboard and door panels), Super Bee-branded mats, a heater, the Hurst Pistol Grip shifter, a Chrysler Solid State push-button AM radio and a sporty (by those standards) three-spoke steering wheel.

Now, what’s going on underneath the hood of this car is particularly interesting. Gone is the original-spec 383 Ci V8 unit, replaced with a 440 ci V8 by the current owner. The power unit was then fitted with a 650-cfm Edelbrock carburetor, an Edelbrock intake manifold, and finally some orange-finished valve covers.

Power makes its way to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual transmission, while the noise (or should I say music) exits through a custom exhaust system with Flowmaster mufflers.

In terms of actual performance, the factory-standard 383 ci V8 with its four-barrel carburetor setup, was good for 300 horsepower. We’re not sure how much grunt the mildly tuned 440 ci V8 is putting down, but it could well be around 400 horsepower, give or take.