When people think of a hot rod, generally a '32 Ford coup or a '57 Chevy Bel Air comes to mind. When it comes to muscle cars, the first thing that usually pops into one's head is a big fast Dodge Charger. No offense to the Pontiac GTO that got things started, but a 1969 Charger with a 440 or a 426 Hemi is the most iconic ride of the classic muscle car era. Automotive authority MotorTrend states, "The Dodge Charger is arguably America's most celebrated muscle car" and, "it is this second generation from 1968 to 1970 that is most sought after today."

Starting in 1966 and continuing to this day, the Charger has gone from an upscale pony car to a 4-door sedan and just about everything in between. It was however the 2nd generation of the late 1960s that captured everyone's attention. The striking looks of the heavy car that made seemingly impossible speed was the stuff of legends. The Charger was a TV and Movie star but most of all it was a straight-line champion.

The history of the Charger is a rollercoaster ride of horsepower highs and luxury car lows, but it has been preserved as one of the greatest American muscle car models. Dodge has discontinued the Charger as an internal combustion engine vehicle, but it will carry on into the next generation as an all-electric speed demon. To celebrate the perseverance of such an iconic car, it is important to look at the best Chargers from every generation.

RELATED: The Top Muscle Cars Of The 60s And 70s

9 Gen 1: (1966-1967) 1967 Charger R/T

Dodge wasn't even trying to make a muscle car when they came up with the Charger II concept car, which would eventually become the first generation Charger in 1966. They were going for something between a pony car like the Ford Mustang and a luxury ride like the Thunderbird. They did however make the 426 Hemi available, so they definitely had some speed applications in mind.

In fact, they did bring the Charger to NASCAR, but unfortunately the body design created tremendous lift and drivers said it handled like they were driving on a sheet of ice. That prompted Dodge to put a spoiler on the fast back, which fixed the problem and propelled David Pearson to the NASCAR Grand National championship in 1966.

Black 1966 Charger
Bring a Trailer

There's very little difference between the '66 and '67 Chargers, so what makes the best of this generation is what it had under the hood. The base model came with a 318 and a "three on the tree" automatic transmission, but a 425 horsepower 426 Street Hemi four-speed was optional. For the two years of the first gen, a total of 586 Chargers were built with the Hemi. The car was actually kind of a flop, with weak sales, but a 1967 Charger R/T is undeniably awesome.

8 Gen 2: (1968-1970) 1970 Charger 500 SE

Orange 1968 Dodge Charger
Mecum Auctions

The original Charger was a B-body based on the Coronet, only with a fastback, but for the second generation, starting in 1968, it got a complete makeover. Now featuring a "Coke bottle" shape with curves around the front fenders and rear quarter panels, plus a kick up spoiler rear, this was the classic Charger everyone remembers. It was also a tremendous success, partially due to its appearance in the Steve McQueen classic Bullitt as the bad guy car.

Picking the best Charger from this generation isn't easy, because they were all pretty amazing vehicles, with the exception of the ones that came with the 225 I-6. Here's a fun fact: Dodge actually put a 145 horsepower one-barrel carb engine in a 3,505 pound car. The others with 383s, 440s, and 426 Hemis however were truly awesome. A '69 R/T with a Hemi could hit 0-60 in 4.9 seconds, do a sub-13 second quarter mile, and had a top speed of 137 mph, which is astounding for a vehicle of that weight.

A parker blue 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona
Mecum Auctions

The '68 R/T from Bullitt is a good candidate due to its awesomeness and fame. The 1969 Charger served as the basis for the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazard and Dominic Toretto's street racer in the Fast & Furious films, so that's a pretty good one too. Even the crazy looking Dodge Daytona, with the giant rear flying wing, deserves some love. It may be a bit controversial, but the 1970 Charger 500 SE is the best of the generation because it was the first year the pistol grip shifter and 440 Six Pack were made available.

RELATED: The 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Is Fastest and Most Powerful Sedan In the World

7 Gen 3: (1971-1974) 1971 Charger Super Bee

Super Bee
Mecum

For the third generation, the Charger's coke bottle body got smoothed out a bit into something that Mopar fans either love or hate. Nobody knew at the time, but 1971 would effectively be the last good Charger year for quite some time. It was the last year for the 440 Six Pack, the 426 Hemi, and the high-impact colors. In '72, there was a 440 available, but because of environmental regulations was detuned into a 280 horsepower disappointment.

In 1973 the Charger came with triple opera windows in the back, which is as weird as it sounds. Oddly enough, '73 was the best-selling year of the third generation, with 108,000 units sold. By 1975 the Charger was no longer considered a performance vehicle as it was veering towards the luxury car market. It did still kick some ass on the NASCAR circuit, and according to a MotorTrend interview the '72-'74 Chargers were Richard Petty's favorite cars he ever raced.

1974 Dodge Charger SE
Greg Gjerdingen via Flickr

1971 was still a killer period for the Charger and there a couple great examples from that year. You can't go wrong in a '71 Charger R/T 440 with a hood blackout insert and body color matched painted bumpers. The 1971 Charger Super Bee with a 426 Hemi however is the hands down greatest of this generation. Not only was it fast as hell, they only made 22 with the Hemi engine, making it one of the rarest muscle cars of all time.

6 Gen 3.1 (1971-1978) 1971 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T

Orange 1971 Chrysler Valiant
Sicnag/Wikimedia Commons

While not officially part of the Charger lineage, the Australian-made Chrysler Valiant Charger is a Mopar bearing the name "Charger" so it must be included. Dodge had not been established in the Australian market, so this A-body was sold as a Chrysler. It was a shorter wheel-base version of the Australian Valiant, but sportier and with performance in mind.

VH Valiant Charger R/T
Ferenghi/Wikimedia Commons

The biggest available engine option was the 340ci V-8, but somehow it was out-performed by the 265ci Hemi six-cylinder Six Pack. The 1971 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T came with the Hemi Six and produced 302 horsepower making it the best of this sub-generation. While not nearly as badass as a '71 American Charger, a 1978 Aussie Charger was way better than what Dodge was trying to push off that year.

RELATED: 10 Nearly Forgotten Things About The 1970 Dodge Charger

5 Gen 4: (1975-1978) 1975 Charger SE

At the tail-end of gen-three, Dodge was trying to move the Charger in a luxury car direction. By gen-four they achieved that by slapping a Charger badge on the Chrysler Cordoba. The Charger was a lower end personal luxury car and didn't have the "rich Corrinthian leather" interior, but for all intents and purposes, it was a Cordoba and a far cry away from its muscle car roots.

1976 Dodge Charger
DanTD via commons.wikimedia

This was the last generation of Charger B-bodies and 1978 was the last year Dodge would make a big-block V-8 for a long time. A 400 V-8 was optional, but it only produced 190 horsepower and because the car was so big and heavy, it did a sluggish 11.4 second 0-60 mph and an 18.3 second quarter mile. The Dodge Magnum was a monster in NASCAR, but technically that ain't a Charger so by the process of elimination, the best of this generation goes to the 1975 Charger SE.

4 Gen 5: (1982-1987) 1987 Shelby Charger GLHS

Black Shelby GLHS
Mr.choppers/Wikimedia Commons

For the fifth-generation, Dodge took a trip to The Twilight Zone and re-imagined the Charger as an L-body front-wheel drive subcompact hatchback. In 1982, Dodge offered the Charger as the "performance" trim of the Omni 024. It came with a hood scoop, rear spoiler, and an 84 horsepower 2.2L inline-four Volkswagen engine.

L-body Charger
Dave_7/Wikimedia Commons

Carol Shelby did his best the rescue this generation by souping some of them up with turbos and modified suspensions. He actually bought up 1,000 of the last Chargers, painted them black, stuck some ground effects on them, and sold them under his name. With 175 horsepower, a top speed of 125 mph, and an upgraded 5-speed manual transmission, the 1987 Shelby Charger GLHS is the top of this otherwise disappointing generation.

RELATED: 10 Models That Claim To Be Muscle Cars But Actually Aren't

3 Gen 6 (2006-2010) 2007 Charger STR8 Super Bee

2 Charger STR8 Super Bees
Jaak/Wikimedia Commons

After a 20-year hiatus, Dodge pressed the Charger back into service for the 2006 model year. There was a bit of trepidation because they rebooted the classic muscle car as a four-door sedan. Once the initial shock of those extra doors wore off, Mopar fans discovered this was a sharp-looking ride with impressive power. For the first time in a long time, a Charger with a Hemi V-8 was available and just as exciting, it shared suspension and safety parts with Mercedes, which owned Chrysler at the time.

3/4 shot of red 2006 Charger R/T
Dodge

The Charger R/T came with a 5.7L Hemi that made 340 horsepower and 390 lb. pound-feet torque, which is awesome, but there was a bigger power plant available. The SRT8 was equipped with a 6.1L V-8 that cranked out 425 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. Dodge also brought back some of their fun trims from the classic era like the Charger Dayton R/T. The best of the sixth generation however goes to the 2007 Charger STR8 Super Bee in Detonator Yellow.

2 Gen 7 (2011-2023) 2021 SRT Hellcat Redeye

top view 2021 SRT Hellcat Redeye
Stellantis

For the seventh, and final, ICE generation, the Charger got a complete body makeover with side scoops on the doors and new more aerodynamic front and rear facias. It also got some scary new power in the 2015 Charger SRT Hellcat, with a supercharged 6.2L Hemi V-8 capable of 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. This was the first Charger since the second-gen that could do a sub-13 second quarter mile, and more specifically, the Hellcat did it in 7.62 seconds.

SRT Hellcat on the road
Stellantis

As impressive as that is, Dodge rolled out an even faster version of the Charger in this gen with the 2021 SRT Hellcat Redeye. This beast came with a supercharged 6.2L V-8, cranking out 797 horsepower and 707 pound-feet of torque. It can do 0-60 in 3.5 seconds, with a top speed of 203 mph. Needless to say, this is the best of the class for the last ICE Charger gen, and arguably the most badass ever made.

RELATED: The 10 Best Mopar Classic Cars Ever Made

1 Gen 8 (2024-?) Charger Daytona SRT Banshee

All-electric Dodge Charger Daytona SRT
Dodge

Stellantis, owner of Chrysler and Dodge, announced that 2023 would the last year for gas-powered muscle cars and that includes the Charger. As much of a bummer as that is, the beloved Charger will live on as an EV muscle car. Dodge unveiled the all-electric Dodge Charger Daytona SRT, with the plan to put it in showrooms by 2024. While the thought of an EV Charger may be disturbing to some, it's back to being a two-door, and it has the classic coke bottle body style, so it's not all bad.

Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept
Dodge

While this car is powered by electric motors, it will come with an "exhaust" speaker system that will blast serious engine sounds, louder than the ICE Hellcat. Car and Driver reports that among the trim levels that will be available, the "Banshee" model, "will eclipse the gas-powered Hellcat in all performance metrics." Until further notice, the Charger Daytona SRT Banshee is the best of the EV generation and the future of the iconic muscle car.