Barrett-Jackson 2014: 1970 Plymouth Hemi Superbird

The Plymouth Superbird is one of those classic American cars from the muscle car era that has captured the imagination of all sorts of automotive enthusiasts long after its presence on roads and race tracks wore away. It's easy to see why. Where else but in the Swingin' Sixties and Seventies would a car leave the factory with an aerodynamics package that included a pointy beak and a rear spoiler that sat several feet above the rear deck?

The example you see above, which was born in 1970, is one of the finest Superbirds we've ever seen. Combine its complete restoration with its original 426 Hemi engine, and it's no surprise that it managed to bring in a cool half million dollars (plus 10 percent in fees) at Barrett-Jackson. See it yourself in our high-res image gallery above, and scroll down below for the official auction description.

If you want to follow along with the coverage, check out the Hagerty Fantasy Bid online game here.

Details

Authenticated and visually inspected by Mopar authority and expert, Galen Govier. Verified original matching numbers engine and transmission with original VIN Tag, Fender Tag and secondary body codes. Currently listed in Galen's Registry as #25 of 78 HEMI Superbirds registered and accounted for in the USA. Documented rotisserie restoration with photos included. 2013 First in Class winner at the 41st Annual Concours d'Elegance held in Forest Grove, OR. Features include the original 426/425hp HEMI engine with dual four carburetion, original 727 TorqueFlite automatic, original A36 performance axle package, power disc brakes, power steering, "Tic-Toc" tachometer, factory gauge package, AM radio, remote left mirror, black vinyl top, Rally wheels with Goodyear Polyglas tires, matching spare with both jacks and outstanding original body including nose cone. Beautifully refinished in the original Alpine White exterior color. Galen Govier's visual report is included along with Fender Tag decoding, Registry Certificate, original owner's manual and owner history plus an additional visual report by Mopar authority, Dave Wise at MMC Detroit. This is one of the finest and rarest HEMI Superbirds anywhere.

1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird 440

       

 
Dubbed the 'Aero Warrior', the Plymouth Superbird was a sister car to the Dodge Charger Daytona. Both cars were sold with huge nose cones and rear spoilers that made them legendary among the competition. These were the first stock cars to be modified aerodynamically.
The Superbird was made to dominate stock car racing and elevate Plymouth's race credentials at the same time. These modifications helped the car beat the Ford Torino Talladega at NASCAR.
Due to homologation requirements, both Dodge any Plymouth had to produce the Areo Warriors in substantial numbers. In Plymouth's case, 1,920 Superbirds had to be made and they were all built in 1970. It was based off the standard Road Runner which featured cartoon character stickers and a 'beep-beep' horn.

While the race versions got full blown Hemi engines, most of the Superbirds got 440 Super Commandos or 440 six-packs rated at 385hp. Of the 1920 cars made, only 93 got the Hemi 426. These were conservatively rated at 425 bhp at 4500 rpm, but actually peaked at 5800 rpm producing 550 bhp.
Our feature Superbird is all original. It features the very rare and original numbers matching 440 Six Pack engine. This car is NOT a re-creation, but a real "V" Code Superbird. One of very few built. It still has all of its original body panels with VIN stamps on them. It has only 65,000 miles on it.

Dodge Daytona Charger and Plymouth Superbird car stories

Tom Murden wrote:
I worked for a Chrysler dealer for many years. I used to love to see a new musclecar come in on the truck for the reaction it caused. In those days, damned near every 20 year old with a job could own a new car, so we were never short of shoppers. My boss came to me and told me we had one Superbird coming in and I could have it. As I was already paying for a '69 Road Runner and a '70 AAR Cuda, there was no way I could afford it.


When the car came in, there was almost a fist fight in the showroom over who was going to get the car. The boss made the announcement that whoever came up with the money first, got the car. All but one man ran to the bank in town. The other one called the bank, got approval, and they told my boss they were cutting the check and depositing it in his account. The customer hid out for a couple days.
It was an expensive proposition for the customer, his wife couldn't judge where the nose ended and air began so she ran into a lot of different things! We put 2 snouts on the car, and he ended up putting a GTX nose on it. Unfortunately, he sold the 'bird nose. He ended up selling it for what he owed on it.
The last time I saw the vehicle it was on a flatbed headed for NC. The new owner had broken the rear window, couldn't find a replacement anywhere as they were not a normal B body piece, and sold it to a collector.

Two stories explain the rear spoiler. The common idea is that it's three feet tall so the trunk can open. An interview with the engineers at Chrysler, long ago, included a comment to the effect that as the numbers kept getting better as they raised the spoiler, until it was three feet off the car, that's where they left it. (Some people are vehement that it was indeed placed to let the trunk open.)
An anonymous reader wrote:

The very first Charger Daytona was originally on display and was eventually shipped to a dealer in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It was done via a lottery that included all the names of the Dodge dealers in North America. ... it had all the all the luxury options of a Charger SE including leather interior. The car is red with the white stripe and is a 440 auto. This car still has only 33,000 original miles on it.

NASCAR wing car development (by Curtis Redgap)

Excerpted from Curtis' excellent article on Chrysler's NASCAR efforts
The answer to more speed was to cut the aerodynamic drag. The answer to that was already sketched out by two different designers independently of one another. The amazing thing is that their respective designs had the nose of the proposed car nearly the same! The rear wing on one design was a two stage affair, while the other resembled the final result of the proposed Dodge Charger Daytona. ...


Plymouth made their commitment to build a winged car. Their own version. This was based on Richard Petty's commitment to return to Plymouth to drive that creation. ... Someone thought that doing the Plymouth version would be easy. Just send a Belvedere two door over to Creative Industries Inc., where the Dodge Daytona for the commercial street market had been built. There they could hang a sloped nose and rear wing on the Plymouth and go racing with it. Having to build 2,000 cars for commercial sale prior to January 1, 1970 didn't leave Plymouth much time.


The aerodynamic engineers warned Plymouth that it wasn't going to be anywhere near as easy to get a winged car with the Plymouth. Scoffing, Plymouth went ahead and had Creative Industries hang a nose on the front and put a wing on the rear of a stock Belvedere. It was awful!
When they saw what Creative Industries had done, the styling department they threw a fit. Faced with having to build 2,000 cars since NASCAR had upped the ante to get in, commercial acceptance was vital. Something had to be done and done quickly.


A proposal to hang a Charger front clip on the Belvedere was quickly rejected. The two body styles were vastly different. Trying to tinker with the current Belvedere fenders just didn't work out. Wind tunnel testing showed that by doing that, it actually increased drag!


They also had a problem with the rear window on the Belvedere, which was causing a large drag on the rear of the car. Engineers had the means to cure it, but the surgery to do it stuck out like a sore thumb on the roof. They had some money for development, but to cure the rear window drag would have meant changing the entire rear quarter panels, the rear deck lid, the roof sail panels where it sweep into the truck, and leading edge of the rear window where it went into the roof, the rear window itself, and the back valance where the trunk lid locked down. Essentially, a whole new car. No way, said the top management.

Instead, they concentrated on the rear wing. In the end, the side stabilizer part of the wing were 40% larger than the Daytona. The wing was swept back further, and the stabilizers titled in towards the trunk more. The front "beak" of the Plymouth cut into the air at a slightly higher angle than the Daytona. The front air inlet was redesigned to stop any overheating problems. In the end, what had been achieved without redesigning the entire car was a 99.5% stability rate with a small increase in drag. It was not quite as clean as the Daytona. The numbers looked excellent.

... Coronet front fenders and a Coronet hood were grafted on the Belvedere body. The lines were the same, but the Dodge was more aerodynamic. Once that decision was achieved, it took only a week to clay in the entire car and get that model into the wind tunnel. With results coming in that looked decent, two weeks later a fully operational car was off and running at the Chrysler Proving Grounds at Chelsea. Having achieved that, then the prints and materials were sent over to Creative Industries where the street commercial Plymouths were built. Just prior to that, the model designation was changed from Belvedere to Road Runner SuperBird!

Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird

The Daytona was built as though it was an option package, thanks to a low budget and last-minute modifications to win races - indeed, existing Chargers were converted to become Daytonas. Take a Dodge Charger (440 or Hemi), stick a wedge over its nose and a three foot metal spoiler on the rear, and you've pretty much got a Daytona (this is an exaggeration, as Petty Enterprises' Kurt Romberg pointed out to me. There was also an under-nose spoiler, vertical stabilizers, and a backlight modification, which he notes "are integral parts of the package").
 

The Daytona wouldn't have been complete without at least one quirk, and it picked a good one. Driven too slowly, it could overheat. Increasing speed (or switching to the next-year's Superbird) took care of the problem.
A year later, Plymouth took a Road Runner, and gave it the same treatment. The Superbird was a little slower at top speed, but it had huge cartoon graphics that made 160 mph just a little more fun.
The Daytona and Superbird were considered ugly at the time, but 20 years later, they seem graceful, and maybe even commonplace (except for that spoiler - and their 18 foot length).

Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird

Bob Stuemke wrote.

As a engineering student at the Chrysler Institute 1958-61, I was permitted to study reports in old files (while on a three-month student assignment to an Engineering Improvements Committee). In an experiment from about 1934, a slightly modified Airflow Crown Imperial sedan was equipped with the huge nine-main-bearing inline eight and high compression (about 6:1) Red Head, with 380 cubic inches of displacement. It had overdrive and slight modifications of the body to reduce air drag (smoothed out the headlamp eyebrows, etc.). This was clocked at well above 114 mph! It now sounds rather improbable, but I remember reading this report with absolute clarity after almost a half century.

Even Virgil Exner understood aerodynamic principles, though production cars did not show many of the existing knowledge. Still, some used the information that was out there. Thomas Osiecki noted that Bob Osiecki's Chrysler-powered “Mad Dog IV” set a world speed record of 181.561 MPH at Daytona International Speedway in 1961, largely through aerodynamic improvements.
Russ Shreve wrote:

In 1964, I was involved in the design of a very advanced race car concept for JC Penney, which wanted to get into International Sports Car racing. One of the key features of their car would be better aerodynamics.
In early 1965, I rented the University of Michigan wind tunnel for extensive tests. I hired University of Michigan-associated aerodynamicist Jim Amick to manage the tests and compile data into a report. Ron Martin built the wind tunnel models, and worked with Amick between runs making changes.
Amick's final report had a unique solution...The Wing.

Amick’s March 1965 report included the following: “The divergence speed for a given combination of spring rates can be increased indefinitely by the installation of a horizontal airfoil at the rear of the vehicle. A convenient place for such a stabilizer might be above the rear deck. An airfoil of 15-inch chord mounted 20 inches about the rear deck and spanning the full width of the car would probably provide complete aerodynamic stability.

Penney did not continue their interest in a race car, and following a breakup with my partner, he took a copy of Amick's Wind Tunnel Report to Texas car builder and driver Jim Hall, in exchange for a job.
In 1972 Larry Shinoda stopped by my house; he was directly involved in the GM association with Jim Hall, and I showed Larry the original Amick report. Larry confirmed my partner had given the wind tunnel report to Hall, and that Hall was skeptical. Per Larry, he himself had been thinking of similar ideas, and when he read Amick's report realized they had been proven in a wind tunnel. It was Shinoda that convinced Hall it was worth a try.
There is little doubt Hall and Chaparral took race car aerodynamics well beyond Amick. However, I think it is time the world recognized the idea did not originate with Hall. The credit should go to Jim Amick.

Even before the Daytona, the Charger had been tuned for aerodynamics with the special Charger 500 model. As Burton Bouwkamp wrote,

The Ford Talladega showed up at the Atlanta race in the Spring of 1969. It was built specifically for NASCAR racing and motivated us (Chrysler) to design and build the “winged warriors” (Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird) for NASCAR racing.
Bob Rodger, our Racing Director (who worked for me at that time) came back from the Atlanta race and said, “NASCAR has gone ‘funny car’ racing.” He said that we should design and build the ultimate race car and forget how practical it was or how it looked because we only had to build 500 of them to be approved by NASCAR as “stock.” I got Corporate approval to do that and we developed and built 500 Charger Daytonas in 1969. Creative Industries built the cars for us.

Burton continued, in his history of the Dodge Charger:

During the 1969 model, we added two aerodynamic models to reduce aerodynamic drag and improve the performance of the Charger on the longer NASCAR race tracks. At the beginning of the year we added the Charger 500 model. We changed the tunnel roof backlite to a flush fast roof line and we pulled the grille forward so that it was not recessed. Actually, this input came from our race teams. ... From February 1 until September 14, Dodge won 15 races against Ford's 22 wins. Not a winner but we were at the ballgame. With the debut of the second aerodynamic model in September 1969 - the Charger Daytona - at Talladega, Alabama, it was a new ballgame. From September 14th through the next year we won 45 out of and the next 59 races.
[Burton later wrote:] In 1970, we built 1500 Plymouth Superbirds because NASCAR had upped the requirement and Plymouth dealers wanted a competitive race car (for Richard Petty). I think Mercury built a “Cyclone” aerodynamic model for NASCAR but I don't remember whether that was 1969 or 1970.

With these models Chrysler dominated NASCAR racing for the next 18 months. We won 75% of races overall - and all of the long track races. In 1971 NASCAR changed the rules and limited the Talladega/Cyclone and our “winged warriors” to a 300 cubic in engine. We parked them because even with the aerodynamic shape we couldn't compete against cars with 426 cubic inch engines. So we went back to regular production “stock” bodies and 426 cubic inches for NASCAR racing.

Not all testing took place in wind tunnels. Greg Kwiatkowski wrote, “My car, DC-93, (also known as #88 later in life), was used at the Huntsville Airport for coast down studies on the new ‘wing.’ They’d run one way, turn around and run back, averaging the numbers out to get rid of any spurious input [e.g. wind.]” In essence, if you take it up to speed, then put it in neutral, and measure the time it takes to slow down — or the speed after a certain distance — you can get a rough measure of drag under real life conditions, including the road going by underneath.
Mr. Kwiatkowski added, “The front of the #88 cone/lower valance is sealed all the way back to the engine cross member; what I have seen of the #43, #71, #7 and ‘show car’ #6, that is not always the case. Larry Rathgeb told me that was very important to the aero of the wing car design for the race track. Engineering told the teams the chassis setup, gearing, and other ‘tricks,’ but you can’t make them all implement the suggestions. ...

“The ‘69 race Daytona package got the front lift of a standard Charger to zero, from 1,200 pounds at race speeds. A bigger front spoiler, further forward, would make some downforce – relative to a no lift condition. The rear wing would be used for down force and to balance the car, aero wise. To get the same effect with a rear spoiler would cause a lot of drag! The spoiler would have had to be well beyond the NASCAR limitations of 3 inches. Overall, the car would have lost top velocity in the straights. So, it would have entered the corner at a slower speed. A lose-lose situation. This is why the still-born King Cobra could not be driven fast. It was loose in the corners with the maximum allowed spoiler of that time period. Now, that car had front downforce and rear lift!”

The Plymouth Superbird and Dodge Charger Daytona

Chrysler started experimenting with aerodynamics in the 1920s, but not until 1969 did they release the most aerodynamic car of its time — one whose drag coefficient was not matched for many years, yet was built on an existing model with relatively few changes. This was the Dodge Charger Daytona, to be joined in 1970 by the Plymouth Superbird.



The 1969 Dodge Daytona had a drag coefficient (cd) of just 0.28, better than most cars made in the 1990s. It would have produced even less drag, if it weren't for the tall spoiler (added to keep the rear wheels on the ground at high speeds), but still achieved 200 mph (set by Buddy Baker on March 24, 1970, at 200.447 mph around Talladega). The price of the retail cars, fitted with either a 440 or Hemi engine, was around $4,000, and the top speed was practically unbeatable in a production car (contemporary estimates ranged around 180 mph).



The first-generation Viper, with its aerodynamic shape, had a cd of over .5; the 1994 Plymouth Duster had a cd of .42. ; the mid-1990s Eagle Talon had a cd of .36. Even the sleek Eagle Vision had a drag of .31, considerably higher than the 0.28 of the 1969 Charger Daytona. That car set a speed record that held for 13 years, to be broken by about 1 mph in 1983.
The Daytona's rear wheels tended to lose their traction, until that massive spoiler was put on, because it carried a standard 440 cubic inch, 375-hp engine, and air would flow under the car and lift it. The optional powerplant was the fabled 426 Hemi, a 425-hp (plus) monster designed for racing.

 

Is a wacky '70 Plymouth Superbird worth $500,000?

Well, the ungainly car rare even if it's one of the strangest looking cars ever created.

The world knows it as the 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird. But given its rarity and how quickly it became an anachronism, it might as well be a dodo bird.
With its bullet-shaped, bolted-on nose and sky-high wing in back, Superbird is one of the more unusual looking cars ever to go on sale. Now one is coming up for auction.
Despite its strange looks, it's valued by the auction house at $400,00 to $500,000. That's all for a car designed to conquer NASCAR with a design so outlandish that it was never expected to be sold in large numbers.
Only 2,000 of those were sold. Of those, only 58 had Hemi four-speeds, says RM Auctions and Southby's, which is putting
one on the block Nov. 21 in New York.
RM says it was designed with one person in mind, NASCAR champion Richard Petty. Superbird was meant to lure him from Ford to Chrysler by taking advantage of 1969 NASCAR rules that required sales of 500 cars of a particular model a year to qualify. By 1971, NASCAR had changed the rules to limit horsepower to cars with big wings, dooming the Superbird.
This one has 16,360 original miles, RM says, and was restored in 2002. It originally sold in New Jersey for $5,503.

1970 Plymouth Superbird

At the time of the Superbird's introduction, Chrysler decided their best chance of beating Ford on the NASCAR superspeedways might be accomplished by reducing aerodynamic drag. While the Charger 500 was an improvement, something more uncompromising was needed. In response, Chrysler released the bullet-shaped Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird, igniting the aero wars. While Richard Petty did not win the 1970 Grand National championship, he did win 18 of Plymouth's 21 victories in NASCAR's 48-race season in 1970; and the distinctive Superbird, with its sloped nose and enormous rear wing, first became a stock car racing icon, and it is now a coveted addition to anyone's collection.This model won in its first race at the 1970 Daytona 500 with Petty Enterprise driver Pete Hamilton at the wheel. Hamilton would also drive a Petty Superbird to victory at both Talladega races that year; further illustrating the advantages of this streamlined profile with its high downforce levels and the advantages it brought.The legendary Sox & Martin drag racing team contested the quarter-mile strips with a Hemi-powered Superbird in C/Modified Production competition as well, with Herb McCandless at the wheel, further solidifying Plymouth's performance image.NASCAR had raised the production requirement for homologation, requiring not 500 but one for every two dealers in the U.S. For Plymouth that meant 1,920 cars. Best estimates put the total at approximately 1,935 cars, all built in 1970. This immediately recognized vehicle is legendary because of its racing heritage, the successes it achieved on the track, and the pure audaciousness of the concept being made into a production car that one could drive daily.This beautiful Superbird is finished in attractive Blue Fire Metallic with black interior and is powered by 440-cid V-8 engine with a four-barrel carb, dual exhaust and a console-shift TorqueFlite automatic transmission; one of 618 similar cars with these drivetrain components. Equipped with bucket seats and a rally dash, this Superbird also benefits from a black vinyl roof, hood pins, factory wheels and trim, plus power steering and brakes with front discs. The car benefits from a light restoration and has replaced front seat covers. It is accompanied by its factory build sheet and is fully registered with the Wing Warrior Club. With an extensive racing background, the Superbird model continues to be well-recognized for its power, signature wing, Road Runner character graphics and horn note. This provides a wonderful opportunity to own an icon of 1970s automobiles.

 

Plymouth Nascar Racing

In Autumn 1968, Richard Petty left the Plymouth NASCAR Racing Team for Ford's. Charlie Grey, director of the Ford stock car program felt that hiring Petty would send the message that "money rules none". However, the Superbird was designed specifically to lure Petty back to Plymouth for the 1970 season. Petty did reasonably well against strong Ford opposition on the NASCAR tracks that year, winning eight races and placing well in many more. Petty's Superbird appears as a key character in the 2006 film Cars, with Petty as the voice of seven-time champion "The King" #43. The racing sponsor's branding in the film exactly matches the Superbird's paint as "Dinoco blue".
NASCAR's rules implemented for the 1971 season limited the "aero-cars" to an engine displacement of no greater than 305 cu in (5.00 l) or they had to carry much more weight compared to their competitors. While they were still legal to race, the power-to-weight consequences that would come with the smaller engine or the increased weight rendered the cars uncompetitive. This was the start of a trend of rules slowing down NASCAR, because the races were exceeding the technology of tires and safety over 200 mph (320 km/h). Ford in response also designed the 1970 Torino King Cobra with a batmobile-like nose, but it was abandoned.












 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Market Impact
The Superbird's styling proved to be a little extreme for 1970 tastes (many customers preferred the regular Road Runner), and as a consequence, many of the 1,920 examples built sat unsold on the back lots of dealerships as late as 1972. Some were converted into 1970 Road Runners to move them off the sales lot. Some manufacturers produce Superbird conversion kits for 1970 Road Runners and Satellites. Kits are also available for non produced 1971 and 1972 bodies for the Superbird. More recently they have been very steady in pricing, with them regularly fetching $100,000+ USD up to $200,000 however this does vary based on the engine, gearbox and other factory options on the car.
The Superbird and the Dodge Charger Daytona were each built for one model year only (1970 and 1969 respectively).