“It ain’t just paint.”
Dodge released the Shelby Charger hatchback coupe in February 1983. Based on the Dodge Charger 2.2, the Shelby Charger marked the reunion of Lee Iacocca and Carroll Shelby, years after their legendary success with the 1965 to 1970 Ford Mustang. It was the first vehicle to emerge from the Chrysler-Shelby technical center in Santa Fe Springs, CA.
Motive power was provided by a 107 bhp 2.2 liter/135 ci inline four with a two-barrel carburetor, which was mated to a five-speed manual transmission. With the aid of a 2,400-pound curb weight, Car and Driver recorded a 0-60 mph time of 9.0 seconds—sprightly for a reasonably priced sports coupe in 1983 and faster than the class-leading Volkswagen GTI. As usual, most other testers were notably slower—Road & Track listed a 10.0 second 0-60 time.
Fuel economy ratings were an impressive 25 city/40 highway by the day’s standards. With a 13-gallon gas tank, the owner of a Shelby Charger could expect a range of 310 to 340 miles with a 10% fuel reserve.
The Dodge Shelby Charger’s base price was $8,290—about $27,400 in today’s dollars, or about 9% less than a 2025 Dodge Hornet GT crossover goes for. Standard exterior and mechanical equipment included a front air dam, halogen headlamps, tinted glass on all windows, a rear spoiler, a special handling sport suspension, quick ratio power rack and pinion steering, heavy duty power front disc/rear drum brakes, and 195/50VR15 Goodyear Eagle GT tires (a size still readily available) on 15-inch cast aluminum wheels. Inside, front cloth bucket seats featured a CS logo, a Sport steering wheel, a console, a Rallye instrument panel cluster with a tachometer, clock, and trip odometer, and a power liftgate release were included.
Options, Period Reviews, & Production Numbers
Options included air conditioning ($632), automatic speed control ($176), and a series of four radios ranging up to an electronically tuned AM/FM stereo with a cassette player ($485).
Period reviews were generally positive, with many magazines pleased to see Carroll Shelby back in the automotive modification business. Car and Driver stated that the Shelby Charger was “built to slay giants.” Road & Track‘s tag line was “Carroll helps Chrysler bring back the Sixties,” which seems like just a bit of overreach. R&T also compared the Shelby Charger with the Nissan 200SX and the Toyota Celica GT-S. All was not perfect, and just about everyone complained about the seats and the steering wheel.
Dodge produced 8,251 Shelby Chargers for the 1983 model year, making the shortened first year of production the highest of the five years the model was available. 63% of 1983 Shelby Chargers were Santa Fe Blue Crystal Coat, with the rest being Silver Metallic. After 1987, the front-wheel-drive Charger would be gone, replaced by the Shadow, which would have its own Shelby version.
The View From 2025
Though Hagerty doesn’t track their values, Shelby Chargers do have their own following as part of Dodge’s storied high-performance history. They are often available in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds, on eBay Motors, and on Bring a Trailer. As I update this blog post in October 2025, there’s a Ruby Red Pearl Coat 1985 Shelby Charger with a grey and tan interior and 134,000 miles for sale on Hemmings, asking $19,000.
Make mine Santa Fe Blue Crystal Coat, please. That also gets me the silver stripe.
Other sporty Dodges I have written about include the 1984 Daytona Turbo Z hatchback coupe, the 1985 Shelby Charger hatchback coupe, and the 1985 Omni GLH hatchback sedan. I should write about the Shadow, and maybe the Mirada.
Last updated October 2025.
Eighties Cars 