Meaning of R/T

Long before SRT, R/T was top dog of Dodge performance. If your Mopar had that two-letter badge in the grille, it was enough to send even the baddest of would-be street racers packing. These cars would go toe-to-toe with SS and GT cars all day long, often besting them from stop light to stop light and on the drag strip.



What does R/T actually mean, though? What equipment did it entail a car came with? R/T is an acronym that stands for Road and Track. When it first appeared in the late 1960s, it was the highest performance trim package for the model to which it was assigned. It was featured on all of the best Dodge muscle cars of the era, including the Dodge Charger and Challenger, which would wear the badge again when they were revived in the mid-2000s.

As for the specifics of what the R/T badge means in terms of hardware, it really depends on the vehicle it was paired with. In the early years, it signified that a big block or Hemi was under the hood. Later on, it could be accompanied by a Magnum engine or even a hot 4-cylinder. Furthermore, one could expect the car or truck it was attached to had suspension or even driveline modifications to boot.

When you think of the R/T badge, you likely associate it with the Challenger or Charger. Seeing as the Challenger wasn't introduced until the 1970 model year, you might even assume the Charger, one of Dodge's most popular muscle cars of all time, was the first to bear it. That wasn't the case, though. In fact, the car that first appeared with the R/T badge can be thought of as the Charger's daddy.

The 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T was the first to wear the badge. Ordering the trim package meant the 375hp., 480 lb-ft, 440 4-barrel, backed by a 4-speed manual came standard, along with a heavy-duty suspension package and a Sure Grip rear end. A 3-speed automatic was an option, as was the legendary 426 HEMI that produced 425 hp. and 490 lb-ft. Upgrading to the HEMI saw a big jump in horsepower and torque. If paired with the 4-speed, adding the HEMI also meant moving to a Dana 60 rear to handle the abuse.



For the remainder of the first muscle car era, R/T packaging didn't change much from what you got on the '67 Coronet. Even for the Coronet's fastback spawn, the Charger, you essentially got the same setup. The only major change was the addition of the 440 Six-Pack engine for the 1970 model year.

Speaking of which, R/T was not the only high-performance package available through Dodge horsepower wars. Partway through the 1969 model year, it had even been bested by another trim level. The 1969-1/2 Coronet Super Bee A12 was a low-dollar, high-performance trim package that introduced the 440 Six-Pack motors. It and its sister car, the Six-Barrel Road Runner, could outrun the baddest factory-tuned R/T cars of the era with the 390-horsepower mills under their hoods.

The Super Bee package would later move to the Charger in 1971. The GTS Darts and T/A Challengers are also notable models to be mindful of when talking classic Dodge performance. The late 1960s even saw the introduction of the legendary Dodge Scat Pack, which originally encompassed Dodge’s fleet of high-performance packages. ((Note- Plymouths were called the Rapid Transit Authority).

When Dodge brought back the R/T badge for the 2006 Dodge Charger and 2007 Challenger, it was no longer a representation of a trim level that featured Dodge's most powerful engines. It became sort of a mid-tier performance package that already lived in the shadow of the SRT badge.



The SRT performance division (Street & Racing Technology) set its roots in 1989. With the Viper as its debut project, it naturally became the new symbol for Dodge's meanest rides. For the first wave of LX Challengers and Chargers, it meant your car came with the 6.1 HEMI. This motor paid homage to the Hemis of the first muscle car era, producing a similar425 hp. and 420 lb-ft.

Ordering the R/T badge for these models initially meant you'd got the 5.7 HEMI. While not as potent as the 6.1 HEMI, it was still a really strong motor that produced 340 hp. and 390 lb-ft. The 5.7 Hemi remained in R/T cars all the way until Dodge discontinued V8 muscle cars in 2023. Along the way, it was joined by the 392 HEMI that produced 485 hp. and 475 lb-ft. in R/T Scat Pack cars. (Note- Its displacement was a callback to the largest of the first-generation Hemi engines Dodge produced in the 1950s).

While the Challenger and Charger may have taken a break for a few decades, the R/T badge kept busy. During that period, it found its way onto many different high-performance cars and trucks, some of which had fewer or more than eight cylinders. Probably the most notorious of them was the Viper RT/10, which had a potent 8.0-liter V10, producing 400 hp. and 465lb-ft. Another legend that broke convention was the Dakota R/T pickup truck that had a5.9 Magnum, producing 250 hp. and 345 lb-ft. It wasn't an 8-cylinder, but it was more closely related to the 360 LA engines of the '60s and '70s, not the big blocks, or RB engines, of the first generation R/T cars. It wasn't the first to do so, though, with the '70s Aspen R/T also featuring a 360.



There also were models like the Stealth R/T, Caliber R/T, Neon R/T, Spirit R/T, and Daytona IROC R/T- all of which had either four or six cylinders to work with. Even a station wagon got the R/T badge. While they might not live up to the standards of modern performance, each was a serious contender for the era in which it was introduced and the class in which it was intended to compete.

The modern Challengers and Chargers might steal the spotlight for modern muscle, but there are those who would argue that the Magnum R/T was the king of the streets in the mid-2000s. It was a four-door wagon with a 5.7 Hemi under its hood, which was fun for the whole family. What more could you want? An SRT version? Dodge made that, too.

Most recently, the R/T name was assigned to Dodge's all-new, all-electric muscle car. With the Charger Daytona R/T being discontinued for 2026, we may very well see the badge slip into a hiatus while Dodge steps into its next chapter. Though we have faith it will be recycled for some form of high-performance internal combustion car as Dodge shifts back to its roots.

Even if it no longer represents Dodge's most powerful muscle cars, the R/T badge is still the coolest trim package for performance cars of modern times. Its legacy will always be tied to the biggest titans of the performance world throughout history, including the Charger, Viper, and the legendary 426 HEMI.