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2025 Buick Enclave vs Honda PilotRetro Review: Dodge Super Bee
The Dodge Super Bee might be a lesser-known muscle car, but its unique character and powerful engines make it an unsung classic.
1968 Dodge Super Bee – Volo Museum Auto Sales on YouTube | Shop Dodge Super Bee on Carsforsale.com
MO-PAR, Mo’ Fun
The age of the muscle car was a heady time for performance cars in the US. Detroit’s Big Three, Ford, GM, and Chrysler, were each offering numerous pony and muscle cars, not only across their multiple divisions, but even within them. The market was hot.
While the Pontiac GTO might have had a lofty reputation, and the Ford Mustang might have captured massive sales, amidst this throng of better-known muscle cars there were models that remained largely overlooked, then and today. One of those cars was the Dodge Super Bee.
When Plymouth released their affordable yet powerful Road Runner in 1967, the folks over at Dodge took notice and petitioned to have their own down-market muscle car for buyers seeking an alternative to the Charger. Dodge took the Coronet’s B-body platform as the basis for the new car, played off the B-body name for the new car’s name, the Super Bee, and modified the Scat Pack medallion for the new car’s logo. The Dodge Super Bee debuted at the Detroit Auto Show in 1968
1968-1970 Super Bee
The Dodge Super Bee was nearly the same car as the Plymouth Roadrunner it sought to emulate. The pillared coupe was slightly heavier, around 65 lbs. more than the Roadrunner, and added one inch to the wheelbase, now 117 inches. The Super Bee also featured a bit more chrome, including its real chrome badging rather than the Roadrunner’s decals. As a result, the 1968 Super Bee was priced at $3,027, above the Roadrunner, which started at $2,870.
The Super Bee also ran the same engines as the Roadrunner (though with fewer options). For the initial 1968 model, the Super Bee came with one of two engine options. The base engine was a 383 cu.-in. V8 making a stout 335 horsepower. Dodge also offered the 426 Hemi V8 at the added expense of around $1,000 (good for 425 horsepower and equipped with a four-speed manual with Hurst shifter). That leap in price kept numbers low, with just 125 Hemis sold that year.
For 1969, the Dodge Super Bee was given a visual update, including the addition of a hardtop body style. A “Ramcharger” hood with twin induction scoops was also introduced. While these were functional, the little fender side scoops that were also introduced for 1968, were not.
Most significant for the 1969 Super Bee was the offer of a new engine. Nested between the 383 and the 426 Hemi was the 440 V8 with three two-barrel carbs. Otherwise known as the 440 “Six-Pack” this engine made an impressive 390 horsepower and 490 lb.-ft. of torque. Introduced mid-year, the A12 special order upgrade added not just the 440 V8 but also more robust drum brakes, a Dana axle, hood scoops in flat black. The 440 Six-Pack was around a $500 upgrade from the base 383 engine, about half the markup for the Hemi.
1969 would prove to be the Super Bee’s best sales year, moving around 30,000 units. And yet, Dodge decided to give the car another revision for 1970. A new front-end design, the “bumble bee wing grille,” was introduced and while certainly distinctive, it was not what you would call attractive, then or now. The Super Bee’s numbers flagged while those of the competing Roadrunner and Dodge Charger remained strong.
1971 Super Bee
For 1971, the Dodge Super Bee jumped to the Charger’s platform, effectively becoming that car’s entry-level offering at $3,271. The switch to the Charger basis gave the Super Bee an additional engine option, as well as a much-needed makeover that included a new grille and front-end design. The new engine was a 340 cu.-in. small black V8 making 275 horsepower, slotting below the 383, 440 Six-Pack, and 426 Hemi.
1971 was the final model year for the original Dodge Super Bee. The Super Bee name continued, however, in Mexico where it was applied to an A-body coupe from 1970 through 1976 and then an F-body coupe from 1977 through 1980. The Super Bee made a return to the US when Dodge revived the Charger starting in 2007, again in 2012 with the Super Bee SRT-8 Charger, and now as part of Dodge’s series of “Last Call” 2023 models.
1970 Dodge Super Bee – carsforsale.com | Shop Dodge Super Bee on Carsforsale.com
Though other muscle cars, including Dodge’s own Charger, have gotten more attention over time, the Dodge Super Bee has remained a favorite among MOPAR diehards for its unique character and rare yet powerful variants like the 426 Hemi and 440 Six-Pack.
