1971 Chrysler Valiant VH E37 Charger R/T Coupe

Description

An Aussie muscle car icon, the Charger was launched in August 1971 as a fastback version of the VH Valiant to cries of “Hey Charger” (the phrase coined by advertisements for the new model) and proved an instant sales success. Buyers couldn't get enough of the sporty newcomer and sales of the Charger soon accounted for roughly 50% of Valiant production. Not surprisingly, Chrysler wanted in on the success enjoyed by Ford and Holden on the racetrack and in the Charger they had the perfect vehicle for the likes of Leo Geoghegan to upset the establishment. One spin-off of the race programme was the development of a homologation special and thus the Road/Track high performance pack came about. Setting the R/T apart visually were black stripes wrapping around the tail spoiler (with the optional of bonnet blackout and vertical stripes behind the front wheel arches) along with a range of bold colours with names like Vitamin C, Hot Mustard and Hemi Orange. The grille was blacked out and featured quartz-halogen driving lights while styled steel wheels were also unique to the R/T, along with full instrumentation and a two-spoke aluminium steering wheel. The R/T was available with three engines; the 265-cid six, the E37 Street Six Pack or the homologation special E38 Six Pack. The E37 option consisted of triple Weber 45 DCOE carburettors to give a very healthy 248 bhp at 4800 rpm, with 306 lb/ft of torque at 3400 rpm. Of the 17,918 VH Chargers built, only 1,300 had the R/T pack and a tiny fraction, just 134 cars in all, combined both the R/T pack with the E37 Six Pack option, making this a very collectible Charger indeed.