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Hemi. The very word draws connotations of prodigious power, speed, and noise. So named for the hemispherical-shaped combustion chambers that allowed for maximum detonation of a voluminous fuel/air mixture, the Hemi engine transformed any Dodge, Plymouth, or Chrysler vehicle into the most feared competitor to go up against on the drag strip or stoplight in the 1960s and early ‘70s.
Capable of producing a factory-underrated 425 horsepower and 490 lb-ft of torque, the classic 426 cubic-inch Hemi, depending on the model of car that it was in, could cost as much as a third of the price of the entire vehicle. Because of this, very few Hemi-equipped cars ever left the factories of Dodge, Plymouth, or Chrysler.
Many of the vehicles that did have the “Elephant Motor” in them were amongst the most desirable muscle cars of the entire Golden Era, and today, can fetch millions of dollars at auction owing to their performance and scarcity.
In past editions of this column, we have looked at a number of the notable Hemi muscle cars of the Golden Era, such as the 1970 and ’71 Hemicudas, the 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T Hemi, and the 1968 Dodge Hurst Hemi Dart LO23 Super Stock.
This month though, I thought we’d examine one of the last 426 models built, and therefore, one of the most overlooked. If you’re interested, join me for a deep dive into the 1971 Dodge Super Bee 426 Hemi!
The 1971 Dodge Super Bee 426 Hemi. (Kimballstock.)
The Dodge Super Bee was a variant of the Dodge Coronet, one of the marque’s most storied and enduring models. Introduced during the first wave of Dodge vehicles to be produced after the end of the Second World War, the Coronet, whose name translates from French as “little crown,” was released as a full-sized vehicle in 1949, with two lesser trim levels, the Wayfarer and Meadowbrook, beneath it in the lineup.
After a slate of refreshes and a pair of total redesigns, Dodge decided to retire the Coronet name in 1959.
The 1949 Dodge Coronet Club Coupe. (Lou Costabile.)
This was far from the end of the Little Crown though, as the model’s hiatus was lifted with the release of an all-new mid-sized, mid-level Coronet based on Chrysler’s B-body platform for 1965.
After a mid-cycle refresh, Dodge completely redesigned the Coronet for the 1968 model year, with Plymouth contemporaneously redoing its sister, the Belvedere, using the same bodywork with only small trim changes.
The 1968 Dodge Coronet R/T. (Greg Gjerdingen, Wikimedia Commons.)
With the muscle car wars in full swing that year, Plymouth had decided to offer two distinct performance variants of the Belvedere: the GTX, marketed as an upscale, highly-equipped “gentleman’s muscle car,” and the Road Runner, occupying a no-frills, low-cost speed machine slot in the lineup.
Dodge, conversely, had decided to go with only one Coronet hot rod for 1968, the Coronet R/T. That is until Plymouth’s Road Runner proved to be a massive sales success out of the gate. Dodge executives quickly became desirous of their own slice of the low-cost muscle car pie, so they hastily configured and released a Dodge-branded bargain-priced performance model, the Dodge Super Bee, midway through the model year.
The 1968 Dodge Super Bee was released late in the model year. (Dave_7, Wikimedia Commons.)
Available only as a two-door pillared coupe, the Super Bee’s aesthetic differences from its parent, the Coronet, were decidedly subtle.
On the exterior, they consisted of bespoke grille and taillight treatments, as well as unique badging and stripes. Taking a cue from the Road Runner, the Super Bee’s tail stripe included a stylized cartoon image of a bee sporting a race helmet and goggles in lieu of the ‘Runner’s Warner Brothers cartoon character.
The Super Bee’s tail stripe and logo. (SV1ambo, Wikimedia Commons.)
The Super Bee came equipped with the 383 Magnum, a new version of the standard 383 that borrowed heavily from the 440’s parts bin, using the larger engine’s heads, cam, windage tray, and exhaust manifolds. Fitted with a four-barrel carb and an unsilenced air cleaner, the 383 Magnum could lay down 335 horses and churn out 425 lb-ft of twist. The Hemi was offered as an option.
The standard Super Bee engine was the 383 Magnum. (Jeremy, Wikimedia Commons.)
Largely due to its abbreviated availability, the Super Bee failed to set the world on fire like the Road Runner did. By the end of the model year, only 7,844 had been built compared to a massive 44,599 examples of its Plymouth cousin.
For 1969, a special options group was made available for ’69 Super Bees known as the A12 package. It included a “Six-Pack” version of the 440 motor, so named after the three Holley two-barrels that topped the engine. Slotted in between the 383 and the Hemi, it provided 390 horses and 490 lb-ft of torque.
The A12 package yielded a collection of aesthetic and go-fast parts. (Sicnag, Wikimedia Commons.)
A $463 option, the A12 package also added heavy-duty engine internals, a Dana 60 axle with 4.10 gears, 11-inch drum brakes, black steel wheels with performance tires, and a matte black, lift-off hood with a massive scoop emblazoned with a “Six-Pack” callout.
Sales of the ’69 Super Bee reflected the attractive new options and features, with 27,806 cars finding homes that year.
A 1969 Hemi Super Bee. (MercurySable99, Wikimedia Commons.)
The year 1970 is considered by many to be the ultimate year for the American muscle car. Horsepower reached its zenith; several important new models were launched, and nearly every brand redesigned or at least refreshed their offerings to start the new decade.
Dodge and Plymouth were prime examples of this. In addition to releasing the new E-body Challenger and Barracuda, the companies changed their strategy of using the same design across all of their B-body models. While the Road Runner and GTX retained the same sheet metal of the 1969 models, Dodge gave their Coronet and Super Bees a fresh look, designated “fuselage styling,” that would ultimately prove controversial.
The 1970 Dodge Super Bee. (Sicnag, Wikimedia Commons.)
Up front, the cars were bequeathed a bold, new face that featured quad headlights set into dual, split grille segments, each ringed with a chrome bumper, referred to in ad copy as “Bee Wings.” The treatment became a hugely polarizing element, with some loving the future-forward look and others rejecting the design as unsightly.
Owing to the love-or-hate aesthetics of the 1970 ‘Bee, as well as increased insurance costs on powerful muscle cars, sales dipped to just 5,054 cars.
In 1971, the Coronet was reimagined as a four-door sedan only. (Car Domain, Wikimedia Commons.)
Despite all the effort expended on the 1970 update, Mother Mopar decided to inflict massive change on the 1971 B-body cars. The Coronet received its own bespoke styling as a four-door-only sedan, the Road Runner and GTX shared a brand new visage, and the Super Bee was moved away from being based on the Coronet and instead now shared its design with the Dodge Charger.
The new look was unusual and, in many ways, foreshadowed the aesthetic excesses that the ‘70s would later be known for.
The all-new for 1971 Dodge Super Bee. (Jeremy, Wikimedia Commons.)
The front fascia was an evolution of the “bee wings” treatment, but now with a sole outer chrome ring encircling the grille and quad lamps. A lengthy hood followed and led to a compact greenhouse that featured oddly shaped, upswept quarter windows. A semi-fastback treatment led to a sloping and fairly long trunk. The rear featured triple-segmented taillights on each side, all surrounded by a chrome ring that echoed the design of the car’s front end.
Although the actual length of the car had shrunk by a not insignificant 4-1/2 inches, the styling made the car look dramatically bigger than its predecessor, and not everyone was in love with the overall motif once again.
Although the ’71 Super Bee was considerably shorter than the previous model, it looked longer because of its styling. (Jerry Weis.)
A blacked-out center hood bulge had a large, round Super Bee logo on the leading end, and black stripes extended from the base of the windshield to wrap around the sides of the car, where they ended at the trailing end of the rear fenders.
Exterior options included body-colored grille and taillight rings, vacuum-actuated headlight covers, a front splitter, body-colored mirrors, the “Ramcharger” vacuum-powered induction air scoop, vinyl roof coverings in various colors, a sunroof, chrome “Machine Gun” exhaust tips, and a trunk-mounted “Go Wing” spoiler.
The Super Bee logo, front and center on the hood. (Jeremy, Wikimedia Commons.)
Available exterior colors were legion and included a variety of the popular “High Impact” hues such as FC7 Plum Crazy Metallic, FJ6 Green Go, EV2 Hemi Orange Metallic, GY3 Citron Yella, and FM3 Panther Pink.
Inside, things were spartan and functional, with the entire interior borrowed from the higher Charger 500 trim level. “Rallye” instrumentation, an option on many of the brand’s performance cars such as the Challenger, was standard on the Super Bee and consisted of two large-face gauges flanked on the right by two smaller ones. Faux wood paneling, high-back bucket seats, a tilt wheel, cruise control, power windows, a choice of radios, and a center console were some optional interior niceties. A handful of interior colors were available.
The ’71 Super Bee’s interior was borrowed from the Charger 500. (Jerry Weis.)
For the first time, a full slate of engine options was available for the Super Bee, and they included the 340 cubic-inch small-block V8 providing 275 horsepower, the standard 383 Magnum V8 detuned to 300 horses, the 370 horsepower 440 Magnum, and a slightly power reduced 385 pony version of the 440 Six-Pack. Topping the range though once again, was the 426 Hemi.
In 1971 Super Bee guise, the Hemi sported a 4.250 x 3.750-inch bore and stroke, a 10.25:1compression ratio, a pair of Carter four-barrel carbs, an aluminum intake, a forged steel crank, forged aluminum pistons, and iron exhaust manifolds leading to a 2-1/2-inch dual exhaust with an H-pipe, twin mufflers, and twin resonators.
The big 426 Hemi Elephant Motor. (Steven Kevil, Wikimedia Commons.)
Hemi cars could be outfitted with the buyer’s choice of a heavy-duty A-833 four-speed manual with a floor (or console) mounted Hurst shifter or a 727 TorqueFlite three-speed automatic for those who wanted one less pedal.
For putting all that grunt to the pavement, Super Bee Hemi automatics came with an 8-3/4-inch axle containing 3.55:1 gears, while four-speed cars were equipped with a 9-3/4-inch Dana 60 with 3.54:1 cogs. Both could be upgraded from the stock rear to the A34 Super Track Pack package, which included a 4.10:1 ratio inside the 9-3/4-inch Dana rear with a Sure Grip LSD.
The Ramcharger induction system. (Mick Morris.)
The suspension consisted of a heavy-duty setup, with independent, unequal-length control arms, torsion bars, an anti-sway bar, telescoping shock absorbers up front, and semi-elliptic leaf springs and telescoping shocks in the rear.
For slowing down, heavy-duty 11-inch by 2-1/2-inch drums resided in front, with 11-by-2-inch drums in the back. Power assist and front discs were options.
The fender decal. (Jeremy, Wikimedia Commons.)
Stock wheels on Hemi ‘Bees consisted of 14 x 5-1/2-inch steelies with a choice of wheel covers shod in F70-14-inch bias-ply belted tires, while 14 x 6-inch Rallye or Magnum 500 style wheels with G70-14-inch bias-ply belted radials were optional. For those looking to enhance the look and handling of their Hemi, 15 x 7-inch Rallye wheels cloaked in G60-15-inch performance tires were available for an upcharge.
Despite the weight of the 1971 Super Bee Hemi coming in at a hefty 4,050 pounds, the Elephant motor’s massive power and torque combined with the available, aggressive gearing meant that the car could perform quite well. While not on par with the lighter E-body Hemi Challengers and Hemicudas, the 1971 Dodge Super Bee Hemi with a four-speed and the Super Track Pack could reach 60 mph in 5.6 seconds and trip the quarter mile in 13.7 seconds, according to a publication that tested the car.
A vintage ad for the ’71 Super Bee. (Stellantis.)
Perhaps owing to the car’s controversial styling and massive insurance premiums on muscle cars introduced in 1971, few people opted to purchase a Super Bee that year. Only 5,054 were built, and of those, an astonishingly sparse 22 cars rolled out of the factory equipped with a 426 Hemi under the hood. Of that number, 13 had slushboxes, and 9 possessed four speeds.
Realizing that the Super Bee was no longer the bang-for-your-buck attraction that it once was, Dodge discontinued the Super Bee after the ’71 model year was completed. With it died the 426 Hemi, a victim of increased EPA standards.
The last of the breed. (Jerry Weis.)
In its four-year run, though, the Super Bee name reached legendary status, and today is highly sought after, with numbers-matching Hemi cars known to fetch in excess of half a million dollars at auction.
A boatload of cash for sure, but understandable given the 1971 Dodge Super Bee 426 Hemi’s status as one of the Golden Era of muscle’s top Rare Rides.
