This is the 1982 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z, it was originally a concept car but it was later used as a pace car for the Indy Car World Series, and then used in endurance and speed record attempts, with a top recorded speed of 178 mph.
This speed was achievable thanks to the highly-modified, turbocharged engine under the hood, and the slew of other changes made to the body and suspension. The car is now road legal, with a Maryland title, and it’s being sold with period literature and memorabilia, as well as service records.
Fast Facts: The Dodge Daytona Turbo Z
- This one-off Dodge Daytona Turbo Z was built between 1982 and 1983 as a collaboration between Chrysler and PPG Industries. It was constructed by a consortium of Detroit-area specialists led by Specialized Vehicles Inc. (SVI) on a modified K-car platform.
- The car is powered by a turbocharged and intercooled 2.2 liter inline-four with a custom intake system, Moldex billet crankshaft, Crower forged connecting rods, and a revised cylinder head with oversized valves. It produces an estimated 225 bhp and drives the front wheels through a 5-speed manual transaxle.
- After serving as a pace car for the PPG Indy Car World Series during the 1983 and 1984 seasons, the Daytona was modified for high-speed runs at the Goodyear Proving Grounds in San Angelo, Texas, where it averaged 173.222 mph over two 15-mile runs and hit trap speeds exceeding 178 mph.
- The car is now road-registered in Maryland and offered at no reserve with over $12,000 in recent service work, period literature, and memorabilia. The seller notes paint imperfections on both doors and the absence of turn signals, reverse lights, mufflers, emissions equipment, a horn, and a keyed ignition.
History Speedrun: Dodge Daytona Turbo Z
Back in the early 1980s, before the production Dodge Daytona ever reached a showroom floor, a handbuilt concept car/prototype wearing its name was already pacing Indy Car fields and chasing speed records out in West Texas.
This is the 1982 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z, it was a concept car, but it was later used as a pace car for the Indy Car World Series, and then used in land-speed record attempts, with a top recorded speed of 178 mph.
The car was commissioned by Chrysler Corporation and built by a consortium of Detroit-area specialists between 1982 and 1983, it would become the one-off Daytona Turbo Z that served double-duty as a rolling preview of Dodge’s forthcoming sports car and as a pace car for the PPG Indy Car World Series – the CART-sanctioned championship that PPG Industries had title-sponsored since 1980.
The project was a collaboration between Chrysler and PPG, it was part of a wider program that saw the paint manufacturer commission wildly modified, often one-off concept cars from all four major American auto manufacturers to lead Indy Car races through the 1980s and 1990s.
Somewhere around 100 PPG pace cars were produced over the program’s life, ranging from a turbocharged Oldsmobile Omega to the mid-engined Dodge M4S Interceptor that later starred in the 1986 film The Wraith. The Daytona Turbo Z was among the earliest and the most purpose-built of the fleet, and it was the only one of its kind ever made.
Specifications: The Daytona Turbo Z
Because the production Daytona’s G platform, essentially a shortened derivative of Chrysler’s K-car architecture with a 97 inch wheelbase, was not yet in production, Specialized Vehicles Inc (SVI) built the concept on the older four-door K-car platform. The rear doors were removed and the front doors were lengthened by three inches each, the roofline was lowered by one inch, and the track width was increased by three inches front and rear using wheel spacers.
The bodywork (save for the front and rear extensions) was hand-formed in steel thanks to a firm called Autodynamics with SVI doing some of the work in-house also.
Concours Interiors trimmed the cabin, and Bill Bizer & Associates of Detroit managed final paint and assembly. The exterior received 21 coats of PPG Deltron Enamel in blue, which was accented with white and orange graphics for the Daytona, Turbo Z, and PPG branding.
The remarkable top speed was achievable thanks to the highly-modified, turbocharged engine under the hood, and the slew of other changes made to the body and suspension. The car is now road legal, with a Maryland title, and it’s being sold with period literature and memorabilia, as well as service records.
Under the vented hood you’ll find a turbocharged and intercooled version of Chrysler’s 2.2 liter inline-four – this was the same engine family that powered the K-car range and that would go on to produce 142 bhp in the production Daytona Turbo Z when it launched for 1984.
In the pace car, SVI fitted a custom intake system and plenum, and in its initial configuration the engine ran a maximum of 12 psi of boost, and as a result it’s said to have 225 bhp. Power was sent to the front wheels through a 5-speed manual transaxle and a pair of unequal-length half shafts.
The suspension was upgraded to match the new power output, with a rear stabilizer bar, Monroe struts and shock absorbers, extended control arms, and it rides on Ronal 16 inch polished-magnesium wheels. Braking was handled by front discs and rear drums, with the pace-car specification including water-cooled brakes controlled from a switch panel inside the cabin.
The interior was trimmed in black leather by Concours Interiors, and it had front and rear bucket seats with two-point lift-latch safety belts and brackets for shoulder harnesses and anti-submarining belts. VDO instrumentation included a 120 mph speedometer, a 7,000 rpm tachometer, and a boost pressure gauge, with additional gauges for transmission temperature, oil pressure, oil temperature, amperage, fuel level, coolant temperature, and fuel pressure.
Pace Car Duties + The Land Speed Runs
The vehicle served as a pace car for the PPG Indy Car World Series during the 1983 and 1984 seasons. After its pace-car duties were over, the Daytona was further modified for high-speed runs. The engine was rebuilt with a Moldex billet crankshaft, Crower forged connecting rods, and a revised cylinder head with oversized valves and raised-port casting, and the boost limit was increased to 15 psi.
Aerodynamic preparations for the speed attempt included taping the body seams, fitting full wheel discs and Plexiglas side windows, and removing the side mirrors and roof-mounted light bar.
The interior was trimmed in black leather by Concours Interiors, and it had front and rear bucket seats with two-point lift-latch safety belts and brackets for shoulder harnesses and anti-submarining belts.
In February of 1984, the car was taken to the Goodyear Proving Grounds in San Angelo, Texas – a 7,250-acre facility established in 1944 with 58 miles of roads and track – where it completed two 15 mile runs under USAC guidelines, averaging 173.222 mph and achieving trap speeds in excess of 178 mph. Not bad for a 2.2 liter front-wheel drive Dodge on the K-car platform.
Now For Sale: The Dodge Daytona Turbo Z
This is the 1982 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z, it’s currently titled and registered for street use in Maryland and has been driven on public roads and in rallies by the current owner, who bought it in 2021.
More than $12,000 USD in service has been carried out under current ownership, including replacement of the tires (Toyo R888Rs, in May of 2022), polishing of the magnesium wheels (May of 2023), replacement of the battery, fuel line, and alternator (2022), replacement of the fuel cell (2023), and a brake-fluid flush with front rotor turning and installation of Shelby Charger Turbo–specific front calipers and brackets (April of 2025).
The seller does note that there are paint chips and bubbles on both doors, with touch-up paint previously applied, and they state that the vehicle lacks directional indicators, reverse lights, marker lights, mufflers, emissions equipment, a horn, and a keyed ignition, and will not pass inspection in any states that require them.
This is the 1982 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z, it’s currently titled and registered for street use in Maryland and has been driven on public roads and in rallies by the current owner, who bought it in 2021.
The car is now being offered at no reserve as part of the owner’s Straylight Collection, accompanied by the removed light bar, period literature and memorabilia including a 1984 Hot Rod Magazine publication titled “Dodge High Performance,” an information board, old photos, service records from current ownership, and a Maryland title.
If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here on Bring a Trailer, the car is being offered for sale out of Sparks Glencoe, Maryland.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
