Dodge has used the Magnum nameplate for several different cars in different periods and markets. It began with a large two-door coupe on the Chrysler B platform in the United States and Canada in 1978 and 1979, and it returned in 2005 as a rear-wheel-drive station wagon on the Chrysler LX platform.
Dodge Magnum at a glance
| US coupe | 1978-1979, Chrysler B platform |
|---|---|
| US coupe trims | XE and GT |
| Coupe engines | 318 cu in V8 as standard; 360 and 400 V8s optional |
| Coupe weight | nearly 3,900 lb |
| NASCAR | Richard Petty’s car in 1978-1979 |
| US wagon | 2005-2008, Chrysler LX platform |
| Brazil | top version of the local Dodge Dart, 1979-1981 |
| Mexico | M-body coupe, later a K-car coupe from 1983 to 1988 |
Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Dodge Magnum.
History of the Dodge Magnum
The Magnum was introduced in the United States and Canada for 1978 to supplement the Dodge Charger. It was sold in two forms, the XE and the GT, and it was the last vehicle to use the long-running Chrysler B platform. Its appearance was a rounded-off version of the Charger, and the car was developed to give Chrysler a more aerodynamic body eligible for NASCAR than the 1975-1978 Charger. Styling features included four rectangular headlights behind retractable clear covers, narrow opera windows and an optional T-bar or power sunroof. The Magnum came with power steering, brakes and seats, and its suspension used Chrysler’s adjustable longitudinal torsion bars, lower trailing links and anti-roll bars front and rear.
The base engine was the 318 cu in V8 with Lean-Burn, with two- and four-barrel 360 and 400 cu in V8s optional, and the car weighed nearly 3,900 lb. During the 1979 model year the 400 V8 was dropped as Chrysler stopped building big-block V8s for production cars at the end of 1978. The performance GT had been available with the 400 in 1978, and for 1979 there was an E58 police interceptor 360 V8 producing 195 hp with heavy-duty suspension, a special axle, GT badging and a turned-metal dash applique. Technology was advanced for the time, with an onboard spark control computer, electronic ignition and a lockup torque converter. The model was dropped at the end of 1979 in favour of the smaller M-body Mirada coupe. Only 3,704 of the 1979 Magnum coupes had a T-top.
The Magnum was Chrysler’s entry for Richard Petty in NASCAR. For 1978 the 1974 Charger was no longer eligible, so Chrysler smoothed the 1975 Charger body into the Magnum shape, settled on in the summer of 1977. The Petty Enterprises test cars reached 190 mph, and Petty nearly won his Daytona 125 qualifying race, finishing second, and led more than 30 laps of the Daytona 500 before a front tyre failure ended his race. Lack of factory development for the small-block 360 and poor handling in traffic hampered the car, and Petty said before the season that the Magnum was undriveable at 190 mph. By the second half of 1978 the top Mopar teams had switched to other makes, leaving independent drivers to carry on. Petty scored seven top-five finishes in 17 races with the car and Neil Bonnett took three poles, and Kyle Petty won his first race in a year-old Magnum in the 1979 Daytona ARCA 200.
In Brazil the Magnum was a top-of-the-line version of the locally built Dodge Dart from 1979 to 1981. In Mexico the name was used for a sporty rear-wheel-drive two-door based on Chrysler’s M-body, the American Dodge Diplomat and Plymouth Gran Fury, and from 1983 to 1988 Dodge sold a sporty two-door K-car as the Magnum with an optional turbocharged engine from 1984. For the 2005 to 2008 model years the Magnum returned as a station wagon on the rear-wheel-drive Chrysler LX platform, built in Canada and sold in the United States and Canada.
Design and features
- Last B-body: the 1978-1979 coupe was the final car on Chrysler’s long-lived B platform.
- NASCAR shape: developed for Richard Petty after the 1974 Charger became ineligible.
- LX wagon: the 2005-2008 Magnum was a rear-wheel-drive wagon on the LX platform.
- Export versions: a Brazilian Dart-based Magnum and a Mexican M-body and K-car coupe.
Dodge Magnum versions
- Magnum XE and GT (1978-1979): the American coupes, with V8 power.
- Magnum (Brazil, 1979-1981): the top version of the local Dodge Dart.
- Magnum (Mexico, 1983-1988): the sporty K-car coupe with an optional turbo.
- Magnum wagon (2005-2008): the LX-platform station wagon.
The 1978 Magnum replaced the Dodge Charger of the time and was followed by the Dodge Mirada, while the 2005 wagon shared its LX platform with the Dodge Charger. More Dodge models are in the Dodge collection.
Sources
- Dodge Magnum, English Wikipedia: 1978-1979 coupe, NASCAR, export models, LX wagon
.jpg){kind=link}
