Winged Warriors

The 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona was created as a Nascar contender to be raced straight out of the factory. It was also to cover the disappointing performance of the Charge 500 on the superspeedways. With extreme for then aero additions of a nose cone and a massive wing taller than most houses, this car won big on the racetracks. Yet, it didn't sell that big on the showroom floor. The 1970 Plymoouth Super bird followed suit in similar pointy fashion. They looked like nothing else on the roads with that long pointy snout ready to poke a hole in the horizon. These were sleek warriors sent out to crush the flat-nosed competition having aerodynamics similar to a brick.

These were pricey cars back in the day. In the 80's they dropped in value and many were lost as rust and carelessness ate away. Which brings us to today. Good luck finding one in mint condition for under a $100k.

Hotwheels, our favored model car manufacturer for children and adult children first made the Daytona casting back in 1996. So late in the game. They redid the mould for 2003 with the Superbird hitting the shelves in 2006. Except, these car while looking a fantastic rocketship, lack a lot of detail and have the wrong stance courtesy of those massive wheels. M2, Greenlight and Racing Champions have come up with their own variations later on with fantastic detail, accurate 1:64 scale and rubber tyres. Johnny Lightning has versions that are grade above Hotwheels combining good detail, accurate mag wheels mounted in plastic tyres available in a relatively cheap price. Hotwheels mostly average 160taka. The other brands are not that easily found in shops but available online. Prices are 500tk and upward.

Words and Photos: Ehsanur Raza Ronny