Introduced in 1966 as a fancied-up fastback, the Dodge Charger wasn’t particularly popular at first. Sure, the company delivered 37,344 units that year, but it was a low number compared to other performance vehicles available at the time. However, sales soared when Dodge redesigned the Charger into a fully-fledged muscle car for the 1968 model year.
Overhauled into a sleeker coupe with a standard interior, the 1968 Charger far exceeded Dodge’s expectations and moved 96,100 units. Sales increased to nearly 105,000 examples in 1969. The numbers dropped to just under 50,000 in 1970, as muscle cars became less popular, but bounced back to 73,785 units in 1971, the last year for high-performance Mopar engines.
Overall, the second- and third-gen Charger isn’t the first vehicle you think of when talking about rare golden-era muscle cars. However, each model year spawned a few gems that are hard to find and expensive to buy nowadays. The 1971 R/T is one of those cars.
While Dodge sold more than 70,000 Chargers that year, only 3,118 were equipped with the high-performance R/T package. And just 2,743 were delivered to US dealers. That’s only 3.7% of the total production, which makes the 1971 R/T the rarest of the bunch. But things become even scarcer with specific engine options.
Most 1971 R/Ts were sold with the base 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) RB V8. That’s 2,504 cars. The remaining 241 were fitted with the optional 440 Six-Pack and 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI V8. The latter is the rarest at only 63 units, while the 440 Six-Pack found its way into only 178 Chargers. The 1971 hardtop you see here is not a HEMI, but it’s a very special Six-Pack rig.
How so? Well, it’s a four-speed manual car. It’s obviously more desirable and more entertaining to drive, but it’s also quite scarce at only 80 units made. And it’s actually much rarer than that if we also factor in options like the vinyl top and the Citron Yella paint. Dodge didn’t keep detailed production records about these features, but this Charger may very well be a one-of-one gem.
The Citron Yella paint is the main culprit here. Introduced in 1971, it was Chrysler’s last High-Impact color and did not make it beyond this model year. Moreover, the bright yellow hue wasn’t exactly popular with the muscle car crowd.
While not quite as rare as Bright Green and Panther Pink, Citron Yella is a rare sight today. And that’s because it was ordered on only 1% to 4% of 1971 Mopars, depending on the nameplate. It was a bit more popular on the Challenger but not as desirable on the smaller Dart, for instance. There’s no precise info to run by, but the numbers above suggest only one to three 1971 Charger R/T 440 manuals might have been finished in Citron Yella. With all the other options included in the mix, this Mopar is surely a one-of-one classic.
By the way, Silvester Stallone also owned a Citron Yella 1971 Dodge Charger R/T many years ago. But his highly original example was an automatic. The car was auctioned off for $242,000 in January 2023.
This manual Charger is not for sale, but I’m pretty sure it would also break the $200,000 mark. The muscle car is in fantastic condition inside and out and also retains many of its factory components. But you don’t have to take my word for it.