D500 Fear the Flags

The D500 continued to plow new ground for 1960 while keeping a low profile in the market. Too bad they did it that way, because this car could have easily become one of the greatest performance cars of all time. It had all the Chrysler hardware without all the weight. As a stand alone model available as a coupe or convertible, it could have easily outsold all other Chrysler performance models combined. When the late 1960s rolled around, the D500 could have made it unnecessary to produce the R/T models.

The Dodge Dart (118" wheelbase as opposed to 122" for the larger Dodges) was introduced for 1960 and was available in three models: Seneca, Pioneer, and Phoenix. All three models were available with Dodge's D500 performance option, the 361 cid V8 with ram induction, making 310 bhp @ 4800 rpm, and 435 lb-ft of torque @ 2800 rpm. Ram injection was also used on the larger 383 cid D500 V8s used in the Matador and Polara models, producing 330 bhp @ 4800 rpm with 460 lb-ft of torque@ 2800 rpm. Rams were Chrysler's version of Rubik's Cube. Yeah, wiseguy, let's see you tune this one up in your driveway. I think they were on to something here, like making more revenue for the service departments. A few Ram Injected 383s also found their way into the smaller Dart, which seems to be common Chrysler option juggling. Dealers could get you anything you wanted.

If you wanted to go really fast and couldn't afford a 300F, this was the way to go. For less than half the out-the-door price of the Banker's Hotrod, you could get a snappy looking Dart D500 with a rather lethal 383 under the hood. Add a nice rear axle, and you had a winner. Take the emblem off the trunk and you could probably fool anybody in town, at least until word got out that it was not advisable to invest heavy cash in a drag race against your car.