By the year 1965, the world was already amidst an uncontrollable horsepower
war between
Ford, General Motors, and
Chrysler. Ford had the Fairlane,
General Motors had the GTO, and Chrysler Corp. had the "Max Wedge" cars,
such as the Belvedere and the Fury. These were all bigger vehicles with the
sole concern straight line performance with their massive big block eight
cylinder engines; but times, they were a changin'. Late in the 1964 model
year the long awaited release of the
Ford Mustang sparked flare of new
interest in the performance car buying market. While the earlier 1960s
performance cars generally had a bigger family car look, the Mustang was
smaller, but offered some minor luxury options, as well as a focus on
performance. It would not be until 1967 when GM would release the
Camaro
and the Firebird, as well as the release of the revamped, sportier, and
higher performance Barracuda from Plymouth. Dodge, on the other hand was
fit and ready to combat the new Mustang with a special line of the 1965
Dart. This new
Dart carried a name that would go down in the history books,
both for the Chrysler Corporation, and the automobile industry alike. The
name of that performance oriented pre-existing car was the Dart Charger 273.
This special edition Dart Charger 273 only came in yellow, with black
interior and a black vinyl roof, or black canvas ragtop on the convertible.
To further set this high line Dart apart from the others, it carried a round
badge on the dash bearing the "Dart Charger 273" logo, with special "273"
badges on the outside as well. They came equipped with a high performance
273 cubic inch V8 with hydraulic valve lifters and a Carter two barrel
carburetor, which according to Chrysler made about one hundred and eighty
gross horsepower. Behind that beefed up 273 was a 727 TorqueFlite
transmission, which went through the rear differential to helps spin the
Cragar thirteen by six inch wheels, which were unique to the Charger
Edition. Compared to the nearest competitor in it's class, Ford's Mustang,
it may have offered a performance car buyer in 1965 an alternative to the
Mustang, but when compared to the 200 to 305 horsepower range, the Dart
Charger 273 was only really competition when it was sitting still. But the
Charger name would not ride behind the Mustang for very long, for in the
1966 model year, the Charger got a body of its own, dropped the Dart name,
and with it, the small 273 engine.
