1970 Dodge Charger R/T

The Story

The 1970 Dodge Charger R/T arrived in the final year of the second-generation Charger, and it remains one of the most recognizable shapes of the American muscle era. Built on Chrysler's B-body platform as a two-door hardtop, the car paired a long, Coke-bottle body with a full-width grille, hidden headlamps, and, for 1970, a distinctive wraparound chrome loop bumper that set the year apart from its 1968 and 1969 predecessors.

Beneath the hood, the R/T (for Road/Track) carried serious intent. The standard engine was the 440-cubic-inch Magnum V8 with a four-barrel carburetor, rated at 375 horsepower in the gross figures of the period. Buyers seeking still more could order the triple-carbureted 440 Six Pack, rated at 390 horsepower, or the legendary 426 Hemi, which was fitted to just 116 cars that year. With the 440 Magnum and the TorqueFlite automatic, the Charger R/T could reach 60 mph from rest in roughly six seconds, a genuinely quick figure for a full-size two-door of its day.

Dodge built 10,337 Charger R/T models for 1970, of which the great majority, 9,509 cars, left the factory with the 375-horsepower 440 Magnum. The base price was $3,711, placing the R/T as the performance flagship of the Charger line. Period options included the 440 or Hemi hood cutout, offered for that model year only, along with a range of bold paint colors that have since become closely associated with the car's image.

Cultural memory has been generous to the 1970 Charger, which has appeared prominently in film and television over the decades and has come to stand, for many, as the archetype of the muscle car. That visibility, combined with relatively limited production and the desirability of the big-block engines, has lifted values considerably. Hagerty's 2026 valuation placed a 440-powered R/T in excellent condition at roughly $90,700, while exceptional and rare-optioned examples have climbed well beyond that at public auction. For collectors and enthusiasts alike, the 1970 Charger R/T endures as a high point of an unrepeatable moment in American automotive design.