Dodge Super Bee

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Dodge Super Bee was a muscle car produced by the US automobile manufacturer Chrysler under the Dodge brand from 1968 to 1971 . In the 2007 model year, Dodge launched a limited special series based on the Charger under the same name.

Model years 1968–1970

1968

The Super Bee was originally based on the Dodge Coronet 440 and was only available as a two-door coupe.

The Super Bee was Dodge's counterpart to the Plymouth Road Runner as an inexpensive muscle car . From February 1968 the Super Bee was only available as a B-pillar coupé with two different engines, the 335 gross SAE-HP 383 Magnum (6.3 liters) for $ 3395 and the seven-liter Hemi engine with 425 hp for $ 4107. The standard equipment included a manual 4-speed gearbox with a Hurst “Competition Plus” gearshift lever on the center tunnel, a sports chassis with F40 x 14 wheels - which corresponds to about P205 / 70 R14 - and the one around the rear running decorative stripes with bee logo. A TorqueFlite automatic transmission was available for an extra charge. With the standard machine, the Super Bee accelerated from 0 to approx. 100 km / h in 6.8 seconds, the Hemi only needed 6.6 seconds.

1969

1969 Coronet Super Bee

In 1969, a hardtop coupé was added to the B-pillar coupé; At the beginning of 1969, a 7.2-liter V8 with six-pack (i.e. with three Holley double carburetors on an Edelbrock intake manifold) added to the engine range. When choosing this equipment, the buyer also received a fiberglass bonnet. With a surcharge of $ 426 and 390 hp, it was between the 6.3-liter and the Hemi engine in terms of performance, the latter having an additional price of well over $ 1000. 166 Hemi Super Bees were produced, 92 of which had the automatic transmission.

1970

1970 Coronet Super Bee

For the 1970 model year, the Super Bee was given a new front section with two half-round chrome frames separated by a center bar in the same color as the car, which Dodge Marketing advertised as "Bumble Bee Wings", but was not very popular with customers . A tachometer on the bonnet and a rear spoiler could optionally be selected.

Engines

  • 1968-1970 - 6.3-liter V8, 335 SAE-HP
  • 1968-1970 - 7.0-liter Hemi-V8, 425 SAE-HP
  • 1969-1970 - 7.2 liter V8, 390 SAE HP

Quantities

1968 - 7,842 copies (7,717 with 6.3-liter, 125 with hemi-seven-liter)
1969 - 27,800 copies (25,727 with 6.3 liters, 1,970 with 7.2 liters, 166 with hemi-seven liters)
1970 - 15,506 copies

Model year 1971

1971 Charger Super Bee

Since the Coronet was only available as a sedan and station wagon in 1971, but no longer as a coupé, the Super Bee found its way into the Dodge Charger model family. Although the Charger R / T was already functioning as a high-performance model there, the Super Bee continued to position itself as an inexpensive muscle car entry-level model. Another 4166 Super Bees were produced, 22 of them with the hemi-seven-liter. The 5.6-liter V8 (340 cui) with quadruple carburetor was available for the first time in the Super Bee, which in 1971 was still a thoroughbred sports engine before it mutated into a banal sedan engine. The 7.2-liter Magnum V8 with quadruple carburetor was not officially offered in the Super Bee 1971, but was nevertheless built 26 times.

Engines

  • 1971 - 5.6-liter V8, 275 SAE-HP
  • 1971 - 6.3-liter V8, 300 SAE-HP
  • 1971 - 7.2 l V8, 370 SAE HP
  • 1971 - 7.2 l V8, 385 SAE HP
  • 1971 - 7.0-liter-Hemi-V8, 425 SAE-HP

Model year 2007

At the Detroit Motor Show in early 2006, Dodge showed a modern Super Bee based on the current Dodge Charger with a special paint job in Detonator Yellow . The model was launched in a limited series of 1000 copies in the 2007 model year. The new Super Bee corresponds to the regular Charger except for the paintwork, decorative stripes and changes to the interior and is powered by a 6.1-l Hemi engine of the latest generation.

2007 Dodge Charger SRT-8 Super Bee # 711
2007 Dodge Charger SRT-8 Super Bee # 711
2007 Dodge Charger SRT-8 Super Bee # 711

Mexican super bees

1973 Dart "Mexico" Super Bee

From around 1970 in Mexico there was a Super Bee based on the Dodge Dart , from 1977 on the Dodge Aspen , which remained on sale until 1979. The Aspen was sold in Mexico as the Dodge Valiant Volare.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Gunnell, John, 1947-: Standard guide to American muscle cars: a supercar source book, 1960-2005 . 4th edition. KP Books, Iola, Wis. 2005, ISBN 0-87349-988-3 .