KINGSTON, Ontario, Canada - The first 1969 Dodge Daytona muscle car ever shipped from Detroit will be sold at auction by Gordon's Estate Services. Online bidding began on Friday, Sept. 26. The live/online auction will start on Thursday, Oct. 9, at 8:30 a.m. The Dodge Daytona ushered in the NASCAR "aero car" era and was the first vehicle to shatter the 200 m.p.h. lap speed barrier.

The car to be sold - one of only 10 Special Editions in existence - has remained in the care of its enthusiastic owner, Dr. John Chesebrough, since he purchased it off the Kingston Dodge lot in 1970. The vehicle has only 34,000 miles on the odometer and is in all-original condition, except for a 1971 factory warranty repaint. It has all of the Special Edition features and the original numbered parts.

The Dodge Daytona's journey into automotive history wasn't always a smooth ride. The car was originally designed and built to compete on the NASCAR circuit, not be driven around town. It was based on the Charger, a Dodge muscle car that had been overtaken by the redesigned Ford Talledega and Mercury Cyclone on race tracks around the country. Chrysler recruited aerodynamicists from its military and aerospace division to streamline the Charger design and make it more competitive.

Several wind tunnel tests, a nose extension and rear wing addition later, NASCAR's "aero car" era was born. But when 500 Daytonas were shipped to Dodge dealers across the continent for sale to the public, they sat for months with no buyers. Chrysler's designers, in choosing speed over good looks, had created a vehicle that was widely decried as "the ugliest car."

Many of the Daytonas were turned back into Charger 500s, just to get them off the lots. Dr. Chesebrough's car was destined for such a fate when he dropped by Kingston Dodge in the spring of 1970. "The dealer said the car hadn't sold in eight months and he was going to make it a Charger just to get rid of it," he said. "I asked him how much the conversion was going to cost and if they would just discount the price by that amount. They agreed."

Imagine buying one of these rare "aero cars" at a discount. How times have changed!

Interestingly, the dealer installed six-pack and finned valve covers. "That was how I purchased the car," Dr. Chesebrough said. "I imagine they put those items on it to make it more salable. They tried just about everything just too get it off the lot." What was an eyesore then that couldn't sell is today a well-preserved and unique piece of American automotive history.

For more information, log on to www.gordonsestateservices.com.