Dodge produced three separate models with the name Dodge Charger Daytona, all of which were modified Dodge Chargers. The name was taken from Daytona Beach, Florida, which was an early center for auto racing and still hosts the Daytona 500, NASCAR's premier event. The original Dodge Charger Daytona was designed to beat the competition in NASCAR racing. It was the first NASCAR vehicle to reach 200 miles per hour, which was a major milestone at the time.
First generation (1969)<span class="anchor" id="1"></span><span class="anchor" id="1969"></span>
With the racing failure of the previous limited edition 1968 Dodge Charger 500 in NASCAR and Plymouth's superstar Richard Petty leaving them for Ford, the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona was created. It was intended to be a high-performance, limited-edition version of the Dodge Charger produced in the summer of 1969 for the sole purpose of winning high-profile NASCAR races. It won its first race, the inaugural Talladega 500, in the fall, although the top names had left the track on Saturday in a boycott of the race. Buddy Baker, in the No. 88 Chrysler Engineering Dodge Charger Daytona, was the first driver in NASCAR history to break the mark, on March 24, 1970, at Talladega. The 1969 Dodge Daytona won two races in 1969 and another four in 1970, for a total of six. Its successor, the 1970 Plymouth Superbird, won eight races – all in 1970. Dodge Daytonas also won on the USAC and ARCA race circuits. They set numerous race and pole records.
One of the two famous aero-cars, the Dodge Daytona had featured special body modifications that included a stabilizer wing on the rear deck, a special sheet-metal "nose cone" that replaced the traditional upright front grille, a flush rear backlight (rear window area), a 'window cap' to cover the original Charger's recessed rear window, specific front fenders and hood that were modeled after the upcoming 1970 Charger, stainless steel A-pillar covers and fender mounted cooling scoops. The Daytona was built on the 1969 Charger's R/T trim specifications, meaning that it carried a heavy-duty suspension and brake setup and was equipped with a Magnum engine as standard. Of special note to collectors is the optional Hemi V8 engine, which only 70 of the 503 Daytonas carried. It had a corporate cousin in the "one year-only" 1970 Plymouth Superbird and with help of Chrysler's missile engineers, the Charger Daytona was born.
thumb|left|250px|Re-creation of record-breaking #88 [[NASCAR Charger Daytona at the 1998 Goodwood Festival of Speed]]
alt=1969 Charger Daytona with Hemi Engine|left|thumb|1969 Charger Daytona with Hemi Engine
The "Winged Warriors", as they were affectionately known, did not compete for long in NASCAR's top Grand National series. For the next season, executives banned aero specs on cars with engines larger than 305 cubic inches (i.e. the same five-liter limit imposed by the SCCA for the Trans-Am and internationally by the FIA for Group 5 sports cars). Because of their exceptional speed and performance, NASCAR subsequently changed the rule book, effectively banning all four of the Aero Cars from Dodge, Ford, Mercury, and Plymouth from competition by the end of 1970. The 1971 Daytona 500 had only one winged car, the #22 (called "mini motor,") which finished 7th.
The "Super Charger IV EL", which looked like a roadster prototype spin-off of the Charger Daytona minus the roof and spoiler, is seen as a pimp-mobile in the 1974 film Truck Turner. The car was actually a Charger show car, with a front end of a Daytona mounted onto it.
1975–1977<span class="anchor" id="1975"></span>
250px|thumb|right|Mid-1970s Charger Daytona
For 1975–77, the Daytona name returned on the Charger, which by this time was a re-badged Chrysler Cordoba. The Daytona package of this era was a two-tone stripe-and-decal appearance package. A big block engine could be ordered as the 318 was standard. In addition, some models (very few) were equipped with a tachometer. All Daytonas came with torsion bar heavy duty suspension.
Second generation (2006–2009)<span class="anchor" id="2006"></span><span class="anchor" id="LX"></span>
The Dodge Charger was reintroduced for 2006 with a limited production Dodge Charger Daytona package that included a sportier interior, classic high-impact exterior colors, a rear spoiler, a front chin spoiler, a blacked out grille surround, rear quarter panel striping reading "DAYTONA" on either side, a blackout vinyl between the taillights on the decklid, and a black vinyl on the hood with the word "HEMI" cut out twice. Heritage R/T badges replaced the Stock R/T's chrome badges. A performance suspension with load-leveling rear shocks was also standard, as well as unique wheels. For 2006, the wheels were the stock R/T 18" wheels with charcoal grey painted pockets, and lower profile wider tires. The 2007 to 2009 wheels are 20" chrome clad wheels. In 2008, the rear quarter panel stripes were removed, and replaced with a strobe stripe on the lower portions of the doors that reads "DAYTONA" towards the front of the stripe. The hood decal was also modified. The 2006–2008 Daytona gains over the standard Charger R/T via a freer flowing exhaust system featuring a single pass center muffler, and a larger diameter stock air cleaner giving it 350 hp. The car also had unique engine management software that removed the stock R/T speed limiter. The 2009 featured the new Variable Camshaft Timing HEMI, producing . These are the first Daytonas to wear a badge listing the number it was produced out of total production numbers.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" align="left"
|-
! Color
! Year
! Units
|-
| Go ManGo!
| rowspan=3|2006
| 4000 (US), 200 (CDN)
|-
| Top Banana
| 4000 (US), 291 (CDN)
|-
| TorRed
| 2000 (US), 200 (CDN)
|-
| Sublime
| rowspan=2|2007
| 1500 (US), 150 (CDN)
|-
| Plum Crazy
| 1400 (US), 120 (CDN)
|-
| Hemi Orange
| 2008
| 1650 (US), 100 (CDN)
|-
| Stone White
| 2009
| 400 (US), 75 (CDN), 12 unnumbered (CDN)
|-
|}