which mopar is the Superbee? is it the coronet? what makes it a "superbee"?

Answer 1

The Super Bee was a Dodge Coronet. IT had a high performance engine, suspension and transmission. Also the paint scheme was special. It was basically the same as the Roadrunner and GTX from Plymouth.

Answer 2

In 1968, Plymouth pulled a marketing coup by introducing the Road Runner, which was a bare-bones car with a big engine. As the musclecar market had grown by 1968, it had also grown up, and many of the popular cars like the GTO were somewhat "adult" with a price that reflected that. Plymouth saw a niche to be exploited and offered the RR with nary a frill, but stuffed with a 383. The Hemi was the only available engine option.

Dodge, seeing the success of the RR, introduced their version - the Super Bee - of the car mid-year. Based on the Coronet 440 (that's a trim level, not an engine), it was only available on the post coupe bodystyle. Like the RR, the Hemi was the only engine over the 383. (The Coronet R/T was the companion musclecar, along with the Charger R/T. Plymouth's companion to the RR was the GTX, which was like the Coronet R/T; the Charger had no Plymouth version.)

In 1969, a hardtop was introduced but, unlike the RR, no ragtop was ever offered. But a new engine was offered midyear, the 440 Six Pack! These "A12" cars were an extension of Chrysler's marketing prowess, taking into account what the kids were doing in the street scene.

The last year for the Coronet-based Super Bee was in 1970. Come 1971, the Charger played dual roles as Dodge's 2-door intermediate as well as Dodge's specialty coupe. The Coronet R/T disappeared, but the Charger R/T was supplemented by the Charger Super Bee, which still came with the 383 and 440+6 and Hemi. At some point during the year, the 340 became available. It's also known that about 26 440-4 Super Bees were built, but they are an anomoly and shouldn't have been built.

Production figures quoted above may be correct, but they are for US-spec cars and in no way reflect the total production these cars.

After 1971, the Bee and R/T disappeared, and they were replaced by the Charger Rallye, which was offered with a myriad of low-po and hi-po engines. A 318 Rallye is not really a musclecars except in looks, but a cheapie Rallye with a 340 or bigger engine could in some ways be considered the Bee's successor.

Answer 3

From the Ultimate Dodge Super Bee Restoration Hive:

The 1968-1970 Dodge Super Bee's were built on the Dodge Coronet body. In 1971, the Dodge Coronet was only offered in a four-door model and a stationwagon. So, in order for Chrysler to continue with the Dodge Super Bee model, they offered it on the 1971 Dodge Charger. This was a one year only model. Prior to 1971, the Super Bee was Dodge's low-priced muscle-car, stock with a hot four-barrel 383. The Charger was upscale in looks and price and strictly big-block in the R/T series. However, when Coronet hardtops became Chargers in the newly restyled 1971 Dodge line-up, instead of killing the Super Bee the company optioned it on the Charger as well. The Super Bee was now the no-frills Charger, and the R/T the more expensive model.

http://www.comteck.com/~landers/beepage.html

Also:

The Dodge Super Bee was a cartoon bee with a helmet, fat tires, headers, and a stinger. Other than the graphics, the Super Bee was based on the Coronet 440 (which, incidentally, often had the 318 engine). The Super Bee package added heavier duty shocks and suspension components, bigger brakes, and a different hood. It had one inch more wheelbase than the Roadrunner.

http://www.allpar.com/model/roadrunner.html

Answer 4

1968-1970

Super Bee rump stripe decal on the back of a 1969 Dodge Coronet Super Bee.The original Super Bee was based on the Dodge Coronet. It was a 2-door model only and was produced from 1968 through 1970. It was the company's low-priced muscle car, the equivalent of the Plymouth Road Runner, and was priced at $3,027. Although it was available with the Hemi engine, this option raised the price by 33% and only 125 were sold. The 1968 model only came as a 2-door coupe and 2 engine options, the base 335 hp 383 Magnum, and the 426 Hemi rated at 425 hp.

The Super Bee included a heavy-duty suspension, an optional Mopar A-833 four-speed manual transmission, and high-performance tires. Outside, a stripe (with the bee logo) was wrapped around the tail.

A hardtop version joined the existing pillared coupe body for 1969, and the induction was now a "Ramcharger" cold-air intake. A "six-pack" (three two-barrel carburetors) version of Dodge's 440 in³ engine was added to the offering list mid-year. This option fell half-way between the standard engine and the Hemi as a $463 option. The 1969 model year gave Chrysler customers several engines to choose from. The base 383hp (high performance), 440 Six Pack, and the 426 Hemi. The 440 Magnum (4bbl) was not an available option, and was reserved for the Coronet R/T. In 1970 the Super Bee was given a new front end that consisted of a dual ovaled grill that Dodge PR referred to as "bumblee bee wings". This new look turned off many buyers and the sales plummeted for the year. Despite the new looks the engines as well as the "ramcharger" hood carried over from 1969.

Engines:

1968-1970 - 383 in³ (6.3 L) Big-Block V8, 335 hp (250 kW)
1968-1970 - 426 in³ (7.0 L) Hemi V8, 425 hp (317 kW)
1969-1970 - 440 in³ (7.2 L) Big-Block V8, 390 hp (291 kW)
Production:

1968 - 7,842 - 7,717 (383), 125 (426 Hemi)
1969 - 27,800 - 25,727 (383), 1,907 (440 Six Pack), 166 (426 Hemi)
1970 - 15,506

[edit] 1971
Since the 1971 Coronet was only available in sedan and station wagon versions, the Super Bee model was moved to the Charger platform. Since the Charger already had an R/T muscle car version, the Super Bee was slotted in as the low-priced entry in the line at US$3,271. 4,144 were produced, plus 22 with the Hemi engine.

1971 was the first and only year the a small block engine (340 4-bbl) became available in the Super Bee.

Although the 440 Magnum (4-bbl) was not an available option on the Super Bee for 1971, 26 are known to have been built.

Engines:

1971 - 340 in³ (5.6 L) Small-Block V8, 275 hp (205 kW)
1971 - 383 in³ (6.3 L) Big-Block V8, 300 hp (224 kW)
1971 - 440 in³ (7.2 L) Big-Block V8, 370 hp (275 kW)
1971 - 440 in³ (7.2 L) Big-Block V8, 385 hp (287 kW)
1971 - 426 in³ (7.0 L) Hemi V8, 425 hp (317 kW

Answer 5

I think that it was that huge yellow air foil on the rear trunk, that made the deciding factor.
With out that spoiler, I guess the cars looked about the same