ss427
Junior Member
Registered: September 2005
Location: Canada
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The Plymouth Superbird was an automobile that existed for one reason only - to win at NASCAR, the US stock car racing series. However, in reality, the Plymouth Superbird was built for one reason only, to get Richard Petty to come back to Plymouth. When the 1969 Dodge Daytona came out Richard Petty asked for something comparable, but because Dodge and Plymouth were separate racing divisions at the time, Plymouth didn't have a "wing car" at the time. Petty became angry and quit driving a Plymouth for the rest of that year and instead drove a Ford.
As a result, Chrysler engineers cobbled some pieces together and built a Plymouth version of the Charger Daytona with a 1970 Dodge Coronet hood and fenders for the sole purpose of getting Petty to come back to Plymouth. At that time though, NASCAR took the 'stock' in stock car racing reasonably seriously - vehicles to be raced had to be available to the general public and sold in sufficient numbers, a requirement known as homologation. In fact, in 1970, NASCAR raised the production requirement from 500 examples to one for each of that manufacturer's dealers in the United States; for Plymouth, that meant having to build 1,920 Superbirds. 1970 would prove to be its only production year.
The Superbird was basically a modified Plymouth Road Runner, but it was realized that while it was alright on the street to have the 'aerodynamics of a brick' (typical of most American cars of the period), something a little better would help at high racing speeds. So, following the lead of the previous year's Dodge Charger Daytona, the Superbird sported an aerodynamic nosecone adding nineteen inches to the length and containing retractable headlights, a slightly smoothed-out body, and to counter a tendency to lightness at high speed, a rear wing was mounted high on very tall tailfins. The reason for the fins was mostly to give clearance beneath them to lift the trunk deck lid, but it probably didn't hurt that it put the wing into less disturbed air.
All Superbirds used for racing were fitted with the 426 Hemi engine, but for the street, two lesser engines were available, the 440 Super Commando with a single 4-barrel carburetor and the 440 Six Pack with three two-barrel carbs. Only 135 street cars were fitted with the 426 Hemi; 665 took the option of the 440 Six Pack, and the rest were equipped with the 440 Super Commando.
On the street, the nosecone and wing made quite an impression, but the aerodynamic improvements hardly made a difference there or on the drag strip. In fact, the 1970 Road Runner was a slight touch quicker down the quarter mile. At 90 mph or greater, though, things were quite different.
The Superbird did reasonably well against strong Ford opposition on the NASCAR tracks that year, winning eight races and placing well in many more. It didn't hurt, of course, that Richard Petty, known as one of the greatest NASCAR drivers, was behind the wheel of a Superbird that year.
NASCAR banned the Superbird and all the other aerodynamic speedsters in the 1971 season, concerned about dangerously high speeds and that the cars didn't look all that 'stock', and thus no more Superbirds were produced.
While the Superbird was a little extreme for 1970 (many customers preferred the regular Road Runner), it has become quite valuable. A car in good condition can reach $50,000 to $70,000 USD or more, even with the more common 440 Super Commando, and examples with the 426 Hemi fitted at the factory (retrofitted doesn't count) and in near-perfect condition have changed hands for about $250,000. On eBay, bids for original Superbirds crossed $100,000.
In 1999, the Superbird and the Plymouth Road Runner were featured in the game Gran Turismo 2.
In 2005, the Superbird was featured in Gran Turismo 4, as one of two Plymouth models; the other being the Barracuda.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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