In the beginning…
1965 Dodge Charger II Show Car
After watching the Pontiac GTO starting the muscle car era in Detroit the rest of GM's divisions were quick to leap on the muscle car bandwagon. Buick followed with the Gran Sport and even Oldsmobile brought out the 442. Yet Dodge, even though putting out cars that could meet or beat these cars, didn't have a performance representation muscle car of their own. In spite of a wide array of performance engines, their Coronet's styling and image was conventional. Dodge needed something that would show that they were able to compete in the muscle car race.
Burt Bouwkamp, the lead engineer for Dodge during the 1960s and one of the men behind the origin of the Charger related his experience during a speech in July 2004.
"Lynn Townsend was at odds with the Dodge Dealers and wanted to do something to please them. So in 1965 he asked me to come to his office – for the second time. He noted that one of the Dodge Dealer Council requests was for a Barracuda type vehicle. The overall dealer product recommendation theme was the same – we want what Plymouth has. The specific request for a Mustang type vehicle was not as controversial to Lynn. His direction to me was to give them a specialty car but he said 'for God's sake don't make it a derivative of the Barracuda': i.e. don't make it a Barracuda competitor."
This was the birth of the 1966 Charger.
"We built a Charger 'idea' car which we displayed at auto shows in 1965 to stimulate market interest in the concept. It was the approved design but we told the press and auto show attendees that it was just an "idea" and that we would build it if they liked it. It was pre-ordained that they would like it."
And like it they did. Excited reaction evidently indicated that all Dodge had to do was put on practical bumpers and start production.