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).