Dodge Charger 1970 R/T RT SE

A sliding sunroof, SE leather, and a 440 under the hood: this 1970 Dodge Charger R/T was optioned right as insurance costs were about to gut the muscle car market. See what made this build unusual, and why R/T sales fell by half the same year it rolled off the line.

This is a 1970 Dodge Charger R/T RT SE with a Sunroof in range paint and a 440 engine. You like it?

Order sheets for the 1970 Dodge Charger R/T don’t usually line up quite like this one’s does. A sliding sunroof was brand new to the options list that year, leather upholstery meant checking the pricier SE box, and a 440 under the hood was practically a given on any R/T — but combining all three on a single build sheet wasn’t the norm. This particular Charger did exactly that. What made a buyer spec a muscle car this way in 1970, right as the whole segment was about to change?

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Sunroof, Leather, and 440 Horses in One Build

The 1970 model year brought Charger its final styling update of the generation, with a new wraparound front bumper and chrome trim that fused the taillights into a single unit. Inside, true bucket seats became available for the first time, and the extra-cost SE package added leather upholstery for buyers who wanted comfort to match the performance. R/T models came standard with the 375-horsepower 440 Magnum four-barrel, positioned as the more attainable alternative to the 426 Hemi’s extra $648 price tag — though this build’s 440 suggests exactly that kind of buyer.

Why R/T Sales Cratered the Same Year

Despite the added refinement, 1970 was a rough year for the Charger R/T’s sales numbers, which fell by roughly half to 10,337 units as rising insurance premiums on high-performance cars started scaring off buyers nationwide. The 440 Six Pack, a new three-two-barrel option for the R/T that year, actually outsold the Hemi more than two to one — a sign that buyers still wanted serious power, just without the insurance bill that came with the Hemi’s reputation. A well-optioned survivor like this one is a snapshot of a buyer trying to have it both ways.

Surviving examples with this exact combination of options are uncommon today, since many R/Ts were driven hard, modified, or eventually parted out once insurance costs made ownership less practical. A car that left the factory with a sunroof, SE trim, and the 440 represents a buyer who wanted the full R/T experience without necessarily chasing Hemi bragging rights — a combination that’s aged into a genuine curiosity for Mopar collectors today.

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