Dodge Royal

First generation (1954)

The Royal was introduced for the 1954 model year as the top trim level of the Dodge line, above the mid level Dodge Coronet and the base level Dodge Meadowbrook. the latter being a 2-door hardtop.

In 1954, Dodge President William Newberg drove a yellow, Hemi-powered Dodge convertible as the pace car for the Indy 500, the first Dodge to ever do so. To commemorate the event, Dodge offered a mid-year package called the Royal 500, a special trim package to add to the Royal convertible. This package included chrome wire wheels, special badging and a continental spare wheel kit on the rear. Officially, Dodge built 701 of these pace car replicas.

Second generation (1955–1956)

The introduction of the Dodge Custom Royal for the 1955 model year saw the Royal moved down to the intermediate trim level, above the now base-model Coronet. The Royal Lancer name was applied to the 2-door hardtop model and Royal Sierra to the new station wagon models.

For 1956 the use of the Royal Lancer name was extended to include a new 4-door hardtop model.

Third generation (1957–1959)

The Royal continued as the intermediate trim level in the Dodge line for models years 1957 through 1959. A Royal Lancer Convertible was added for 1957 only and the station wagons were moved to their own series in the same year. File:1957 Dodge Royal - 15297172163.jpg|1957 Dodge Royal File:1958 Dodge Royal sedan (6102288935).jpg|1958 Dodge Royal 4-Door Sedan

Discontinuation

The Royal was discontinued for the 1960 model year, when the full-size Dodge line was reduced to two trim levels.

References

Bibliography

References

1. John Gunnell, Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946–1975, Revised 4th Edition
2. It was offered only with a 241 cubic inch 'Hemi' V8 engine. The 1954 Royal V-8 range comprised 4-Door Sedan, Convertible, Club Coupe and Sport Coupe,[http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Dodge/1954_Dodge/1954_Dodge_Brochure/dirindex.html 1954 Dodge Brochure, www.oldcarbrochures.com] Retrieved 16 December 2018