Dodge Daytona: It was a K car in disguise

While the GM and Ford cars all used carburetors, Chrysler delved into the world of combining multiport fuel injection and turbocharging for the first time. We still hear you saying “so what” but, at the time, the Dodge Daytona Turbo Z cars were really high tech for the time.

An "Electronic Navigator" and "Electronic Message Center with Voice Alert" were options that enhanced that claim. Even if it was a variant of the K-car on a shorter wheelbase, Chrysler engineers created the Daytona to draw youthful, performance-minded buyers into the mix. The Daytona Turbo Z achieved 22 mpg in town and up to 35 mpg on the highway, yet delivered decent performance for the money.

These Dodge Daytona Turbo Zs could travel from 0 to 60mph in 8.5 seconds with a manual shift. The factory list price was $10,227 and Chrysler built 27,431 Daytona Turbos, so they should be plentiful and ready for restoration. A big plus is that basic parts to rebuild/restore one of these cars are cheap in contrast to parts for an E- or B-body Mopar.
00:00 Introduction
01:55 Hight tech dash
02:14 From the K car
02:47 0-60 mph
03:22 Engine specs
04:06 1985 Turbo Z
04:42 1986 Turbo Z
05:40 1987 Turbo Z
06:18 1989 Turbo Z
06:38 1991 Turbo Z
07:15 1993 Turbo Z
07:32 End of the road for the Turbo Z