My
aunt had a black Dodge Daytona Turbo Z when I was growing up, and I
thought it was the coolest car in the world. Low, swoopy, turbocharged,
hatchbacked, and fast, it was the epitome of cool to my underdeveloped
9-year-old brain. My underdeveloped 31-year-old brain likes it nearly
as much.
Starting from the modest base of a K-car frame
and basic 2.2-liter 4-cylinder engine, borrowed from the relentlessly
mediocre Dodge Aries/Plymouth Reliant, Dodge was nonetheless able to
turbocharge, tune, and stiffen the Daytona into a top-line sporty car,
a true rival for the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. As a
giant-killer with a heavily turbocharged four-cylinder, slaying cars
with twice the cylinder count, the Daytona was something like a Lotus
Esprit Turbo for the masses.
The Daytona later gained
Shelby Z and IROC versions, but I like the Turbo Z styling the best,
with its aggressive grille and exposed headlights. The later versions
just looked too plasticky to me, though I admit I'm drawing a very fine
line here.
One
of our buyers on the Automotive team dabbled in turbocharged Mopar iron
during the 1980s, and much of his youth was misspent blasting around
Boston with a mullet in a Daytona Turbo Z, listening to Stryper and
messing around with his friends.
With an image like that, how could one not lust after a Turbo Z?
These
photos came from a page on which a Mopar enthusiast documents his
efforts to fix up a very nice Daytona Turbo Z--as is usually the case
in which owners document their restoration and upgrading efforts, it's
a
pretty good read.
--Chris H.
Becky Weber on March 05, 2008 at 06:20 PM
I loved that car!! It WAS the coolest car I ever owned. It sure beats the mini-van I'm driving now!
Ace on May 29, 2008 at 04:38 PM
Mine was blue....It was the fastest accelerating vehicle I ever strapped myself into...
Robert Murphy on November 03, 2008 at 07:32 PM
I use to have an 89 Daytona Turbo ES T-top, black on silver with the digi dash. It was the most awesome car I have ever driven, fast and could take corners like it was glued to the ground!
Mopar_girl on May 14, 2009 at 09:10 AM
Fell in love with Daytonas when I was still in grade school and saw an 84..have had one since I was 21. Just in the process of restoring a 90 ES; the black paint's drying as I write. The money for this little project came from the ridiculous woman yapping on her cell who t-boned the car in November. It sucked when it happened, but now it's all good. My Daytona looks awesome, and still only has 95,000 kms on it! It's a turbo, and goes like spit, and handles beautifully!