The Dodge Challenger has remained one of Chrysler’s most popular nameplates through the past few decades, and it was even the star of the movie “Vanishing Point”. It wasn’t surprising that Dodge didn’t stray too far from the original Challenger’s looks when they recreated it for the 21st century, but there is still something seductive about the classic Challenger.
Over at the Hemmings Auto Blog is a 1-of-50 1971 Dodge Challenger Convertible Indianapolis 500 Pace Car. Sure, it only has a 318 V8 under that long hood, but with just 60,000 miles on it this ‘71 Challenger is broken in, but hardly beat on.
Just 50 of these pace cars were built for the celebration of the 1971 Indy 500, and this particular one was sold to a lady who traded it back to the dealership three years later. The owner of the dealership, J.K. Dailey, then put the Challenger in his garage for 35 years, apparently trying to remove the pace car lettering at some point but burning through the paint.
The Challenger was repainted the original HEMI orange, the engine bay was detailed, and the pace car decals reapplied. But pretty much everything else on this droptop Dodge is original, including the body panels, the interior, and even the window sticker. Sure, it doesn’t have a HEMI, but you won’t find too many Challenger pace cars still hanging around.
For $51,500, we think it would be a great car show cruiser…but would you want to drive around with pace car decals all over your Challenger on a daily basis?