This muscle car was so fast it was banned in America
Published on Jun 13, 2025 at 4:19 AM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Jun 12, 2025 at 6:50 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
This is the 1992 Dodge Daytona IROC R/T, a rare and relatively unknown muscle car that was too quick for its own good.
It was launched in the 1990s, and it made headlines thanks to its incredibly powerful engine.
The problem was that the engine was too powerful, and so it made headlines again when it got banned.
And the reason it got banned is quite frankly amusing.
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When people think about a Dodge muscle car, they generally think of the Charger or the Challenger. They’re probably not thinking about the Daytona.
This particular model, the 1992 Dodge Daytona IROC R/T – as in, road and track, a namesake that Dodge still uses today – was developed in partnership with Lotus, and it shows.
The engine was a 2.2-liter four-cylinder with 224HP, which was a lot for a muscle car at the time.
It did 0-60 in six seconds, which meant it was a lot faster than its main rivals, including the Mustang.
People began using the car to take part in SCCA – Sports Car Club of America – and IMSA Firehawk racing events, and it all went well, until it didn’t.
The problem was that these were amateur racing series, which means anybody, in theory, could participate, and that meant pretty much anybody with a Daytona IROC would almost always win.
At some point, the SCCA and IMSA decided the Daytona gave its drivers an unfair advantage, and the car started getting hit with performance penalties of various kinds.
And eventually it was banned altogether.
So it was fast, and it was also relatively rare.
It is difficult to know for certain, but it is estimated that fewer than 1,200 units were built in 1992.
Other sources claim only 250 were built, so the truth is probably in the middle.
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After beginning his automotive writing career at DriveTribe, Alessandro has been with Supercar Blondie since the launch of the website in 2022. In fact, he penned the very first article published on supercarblondie.com. He’s covered subjects from cars to aircraft, watches, and luxury yachts - and even crypto. He can largely be found heading up the site’s new-supercar and SBX coverage and being the first to bring our readers the news that they’re hungry for.
