1959 Dodge Custom Royal

The 1959 Dodge Custom Royal pictured here is a rare bird. For one thing, it's one of only 984 fliptop Custom Royals built for 1959 (base-priced at $3422). For another, it has that year's new Super D-500 option, a 383-cubic-inch V-8 with twin four-barrel carburetors and a blistering 345 horsepower. The point? The Super D-500 was available on any Dodge but wasn't often ordered, so how many other top-line ragtops could have had it too?

This 1959 Dodge Custom Royal boasts the rare Super D-500 V-8 engine option.

That 383 was a new size for Dodge as well as '59 Chryslers and DeSotos, the first of what would be a long line. But you didn't need the Super D-500 to enjoy a Custom Royal ragtop, as its standard engine was a Super Ram Fire 361 with a healthy 305 bhp. In between was a single four-barrel 383 D-500 option with 320 bhp.

The 1959 Dodge Custom Royal had swivel front seats, a popular
but short-lived feature.

All these engines were efficient "wedgeheads" that worked best with responsive TorqueFlite automatic transmission. Rivaling its trademark pushbutton controls for futuristic gimmickry was another new '59 feature: swivel front seats. Our featured Custom Royal has these too, though other Chrysler makes also offered them. The idea was to ease entry/exit in ever-lower cars. This option was fairly popular, but it didn't last beyond 1960.