Dodge nearly quadrupled Super Bee production for 1969, climbing to 27,800 units as the mid-size muscle car added a three-carburetor 440 Six Pack and the 425-horsepower 426 Hemi to its lineup partway through the model year. Buried within that run sat the A12 package — just 1,907 cars built with a flat black scooped hood and a heavy-duty Dana 60 axle that Dodge barely promoted. Base pricing started around $3,075, a bargain next to what these cars command among collectors today. The Six Pack and Hemi variants remain the ones enthusiasts chase hardest.
The Chrysler “B” body, mid-size platform, is the source of the moniker “Super Bee”, The success of the mid-sized Roadrunner and Charger models led to the introduction of the SuperBee in 1968. The first year it is only available as a pillared hard top, but in ’69 a pillerless version is also an option. A factory correct 1969 SuperBee is powered by the base 383 Magnum, 440 six pack or the 426 Hemi.
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Dodge sold nearly four times as many Super Bees in 1969 as it had in the model’s debut year, and a big part of that jump came down to a mid-year engine option nobody saw coming until dealers started advertising it. The base car already came with a genuinely quick 383 Magnum, but buyers who waited found a three-carburetor 440 waiting for them, followed later by the ultimate factory answer: a 425-horsepower 426 Hemi shoehorned into an otherwise ordinary mid-size body. A tiny fraction of 1969 buyers went further still, ordering a special package with a flat black scooped hood and a heavy-duty rear axle that Dodge barely advertised at all. Fewer than two thousand of those exist. What made Dodge bury its wildest option instead of shouting about it?
The Engine Lineup That Escalated Mid-Year
The 1969 Super Bee launched with a base 383 Magnum rated at 335 horsepower, but partway through the model year Dodge added the 440 Six Pack — three two-barrel Holley carburetors feeding the 440 cubic inch V8 for 390 horsepower and 490 lb-ft of torque — alongside the top-tier 426 Hemi at 425 horsepower. That escalating lineup helped push production to 27,800 units in 1969, up from roughly 7,800 in the model’s 1968 debut year.
The A12 Package Dodge Barely Talked About
Hidden within that 1969 run was the A12 M-code package: just 1,907 Super Bees built with a flat black scooped hood and a heavy-duty Dana 60 rear axle, aimed squarely at drag racers rather than showroom shoppers. These cars rode on a 117-inch wheelbase and stretched 206.6 inches long, with base pricing between $3,075 and $3,135 when new — a bargain compared to what Six Pack and Hemi Super Bees command among collectors today.
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