In 1970, Chrysler conducted secret wind tunnel tests and produced reports of the testing for the new ’71 Dodge and Plymouth B-bodies. Unfortunately the program was dropped and no full scale cars were built.

Isaac, with NASCAR crewchief Harry Hyde, took their ’69 Dodge Charger Daytona stock car to Bonneville in September of 1971 to prove the car’s speed and aerodynamic engineering. In 2010, Pam and Gary Beineke began a new project, building a 3rd gen tribute car to the famous Bobby Isaac #71 K&K Insurance Dodge Daytona. Their 1971 (G-Series) wingcar was based on the wind tunnel test report that Chrysler had conducted on the B-Bodied cars.

The car that Chrysler decided not to build was finally built by the Beineke crew. Photo from Moser Engineering.

Building their “what-if” car based off of 1971 sheetmetal, the Beineke crew designed and built the “never-was” car as it would have been if Chrysler had continued with their plans to manufacture Daytonas and Superbirds in 1971. Many of the body panels are hand built, including the distinctive nose cone and iconic wing.

Powered by a 980 horsepower/ 860 ft.lbs torque Indy Hemi, the car ran 190 mph in its debut at Maxton, North Carolina. Beineke crew is using a Moser Engineering stamped 8 3/4″ rearend with Trutrac and 2.76 gears to spin the rear wheels.

In a real tribute to Bobby Isaac, the car ran laps around Darlington Speedway. Photo from Moser Engineering.

The team designed the car to break the 200 mph mark in the standing mile and after initial runs and further wind tunnel testing, the team put together a 208.4 mph run that supported the findings of the Chrysler wind tunnel tests, and gave everyone a glimpse of what NASCAR could have been in the early ’70s.