Plymouth Superbird | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Manufacturer | Plymouth (Chrysler) |
Production | 1970 |
Assembly | Detroit, Michigan (Lynch Road Assembly) |
Designer | Gary Romberg [1] |
Body and chassis | |
Class | muscle car, race car |
Body style | 2-door coupe |
Layout | FR layout |
Platform | B-body |
Related | Plymouth Road Runner Dodge Charger Daytona |
Powertrain | |
Engine | 426 cu in (7.0 L) Hemi V8 440 cu in (7.2 L) Super Commando V8 |
Transmission | 4-speed manual 3-speed automatic Torqueflite 727 |
Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | 115.8 in (2,941 mm) [2] |
Length | 221 in (5,613 mm) [2] |
Width | 76.4 in (1,941 mm) [2] |
Height | 61.4 in (1,560 mm) [2] |
Curb weight | 3,841 lb (1,742 kg) [3] |
The Plymouth Superbird is a highly modified, short-lived version of the Plymouth Road Runner with applied graphic images as well as a distinctive horn sound, both referencing the popular Looney Tunes cartoon character Road Runner. It was the factory's follow-up stock car racing design, for the 1970 season, to the Dodge Charger Daytona of 1969, and incorporated many engineering changes and modifications (both minor and major) garnered from the Daytona's season in competition. [4]
The car's primary rivals were the Ford Torino Talladega and Mercury Cyclone, a direct response to the Mopar aero car. It has also been speculated that a motivating factor in the production of the car was to lure Richard Petty back to Plymouth. [5] Both of the Mopar aero cars famously featured a protruding, aerodynamic nosecone, a high-mounted rear wing and, unique to the Superbird, a horn mimicking the Road Runner's signature "beep, beep." [6]
Superbirds equipped with the top-of-the-line 426 cu in (7.0 L) Hemi engine with a pair of four barrel Carter AFB carburetors (2x4bbl) producing 425 hp (317 kW) could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 5.5 seconds. [7]
Developed specifically for NASCAR racing, the Superbird, a modified Road Runner, was Plymouth's follow-on design to the Charger Daytona fielded by sister company Dodge in the previous season. The Charger 500 version that began the 1969 season was the first American car to be designed aerodynamically using a wind tunnel and computer analysis, and later was modified into the Daytona version with nose and tail. The Superbird's smoothed-out body and nosecone were further refined from that of the Daytona, and the street version's retractable headlights (made of fiberglass [2] ) added nineteen inches to the Road Runner's original length. The rear wing was mounted on tall vertical struts that put it into less disturbed air thus increasing the efficiency of the downdraft that it placed upon the car's rear axle. For nearly 30 years the mathematic formula used to determine the exact height of the enormous wing was thought to be a highly guarded Chrysler secret. In the 1990s, a retired Chrysler project engineer incorrectly [8] claimed publicly that the height was determined in much simpler fashion: he claimed it was designed to provide clearance for the trunk lid to open freely. This is an urban myth. The actual height was set to clear the roofline so it was in clean air. [9] The rear-facing fender scoops were to hide cutouts. On Daytonas, the scoops were actually for ventilating trapped air from the wheel wells in order to reduce under fender air pressure and lift. For standard road going Superbirds the covers or "air extractors" were a cosmetic enhancement. [10] [11] Ground clearance was 7.2 inches (18 centimetres). [2]
NASCAR's homologation requirement demanded that vehicles to be raced must be available to the general public and sold through dealerships in specific minimum numbers. For 1970, NASCAR raised the production requirement from 500 examples to one for every two manufacturer's dealers in the United States; in the case of Plymouth, that meant having to build 1,920 Superbirds. Due to increasing emissions regulations, combined with insurance spike for high performance cars and NASCAR's effective ban on the aero cars, 1970 was its only production year.
"Superbird" decals were placed on the outside edges of the spoiler vertical struts featuring a picture of the Road Runner cartoon character holding a racing helmet. A smaller version of the decal appears on the driver's side headlight door. Superbirds had three engine options: the 426 Hemi V8 engine producing 425 bhp (431 PS; 317 kW) at 5000 rpm and 490 lb⋅ft (664 N⋅m) at 4000 rpm of torque, the 440 Super Commando Six Barrel with 3X2-barrel carburetors producing 390 hp (290 kW) and the 375 hp (280 kW) 440 Super Commando with a single 4-barrel carburetor. Only 135 models were fitted with the 426 Hemi. As the 440 was less expensive to produce, the "street" version of the 426 Hemi engine used in competition was homologated by producing the minimum number required.
On the street, the nose cone and wing were very distinctive, but the aerodynamic improvements hardly made a difference there or on the drag strip. In fact, the 1970 Road Runner was actually quicker in the quarter mile and standard acceleration tests due to the increased downforce produced by the Superbird's nose and wing. Only at speeds in excess of 60 mph (97 km/h) did the modifications begin to show any benefit. [12]
Chrysler memos of September 1969 show that the sales programming staff were preparing to handle 1,920 winged Plymouths for 1970, but published figures say as many as 2,783 were built. The current figure generally accepted is 1,935 SuperBirds built and shipped to United States dealers, with some 34 to 47 allegedly shipped to Canada. The engine option is also questioned, although the most frequently seen numbers report 135 Hemi SuperBirds and 716 440ci. six-barrel editions, with the remainder powered by 440ci. 4bbl. motors. It is believed that over 1,000 Plymouth SuperBirds exist today. [13]
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.
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 an aerodynamic, superbird-style nose, but it was abandoned. [14] [15]
The Superbird's styling proved to be extreme for 1970s tastes (many customers preferred the regular Road Runner), and as a consequence, many of the 1,920 examples built [16] 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. [17] Some manufacturers produce Superbird conversion kits for 1970 Road Runners and Satellites. [18] Kits are also available for non produced 1971 and 1972 bodies for the Superbird.[ citation needed ] More recently they have been very steadily rising in price, regularly fetching from US$200,000 to $450,000 however this does vary based on the engine, gearbox and other factory options on the car. [19] [20]
The Superbird and the Dodge Charger Daytona were each built for one model year only (1970 and 1969 respectively).
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately 0.25 to 2.66 miles. It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It originated in the southern United States; its largest governing body is NASCAR. Its NASCAR Cup Series is the premier top-level series of professional stock car racing. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and the United Kingdom also have forms of stock car racing. Top-level races typically range between 200 and 600 miles in length.
A muscle car is an American-made two-door sports coupe with a powerful engine, generally designed for high-performance driving.
The Plymouth Road Runner is a mid-size car with a focus on performance built by Plymouth in the United States between 1968 and 1980. By 1968, some of the original muscle cars were moving away from their roots as relatively cheap, fast cars as they gained features and increased in price. Plymouth developed the Road Runner to market a lower-priced, basic trim model to its upscale GTX.
The Dodge Charger is a model of automobile marketed by Dodge in various forms over eight generations since 1966.
The Dodge Challenger is the name of three different generations of automobiles produced by the American automobile manufacturer Dodge. However, the first use of the Challenger name by Dodge dates back to 1959 for marketing a "value version" of the full-sized Coronet Silver Challenger.
The Plymouth Barracuda is a two-door pony car that was manufactured by Chrysler Corporation from 1964 through 1974 model years.
The Ford Torino Talladega is a muscle car that was produced by Ford only during the first few weeks of 1969. It was named for the Talladega Superspeedway, which opened the same year. The Talladega was a special, more aerodynamic version of the Torino / Fairlane produced specifically to make Ford even more competitive in NASCAR racing, and it was sold to the public only because homologation rules required a certain minimum number of cars be produced and made available.
Dodge produced three separate models with the name Dodge Charger Daytona, all of which were modified Dodge Chargers. The name was taken from Daytona Beach, Florida, which was an early center for auto racing and still hosts the Daytona 500, NASCAR's premier event. The original Dodge Charger Daytona was designed to beat the competition in NASCAR racing. It was the first NASCAR vehicle to reach 200 miles per hour, which was a major milestone at the time.
The B platform or B-body was the name of two of Chrysler's midsize passenger car platforms – at first rear-wheel drive, from 1962 through 1979; and the later, unrelated front-wheel drive platform, used by the Eagle Premier / Dodge Monaco, from 1988 through 1992.
The Chrysler B and RB engines are a series of big-block V8 gasoline engines introduced in 1958 to replace the Chrysler FirePower engines. The B and RB engines are often referred to as "wedge" engines because they use wedge-shaped combustion chambers; this differentiates them from Chrysler's 426 Hemi big block engines that are typically referred to as "Hemi" or "426 Hemi" due to their hemispherical shaped combustion chambers. The corporation had been seeking a smaller and lighter replacement for its FirePower engines, in part because new styling dictates meant moving the engine forward in the chassis which negatively affected weight distribution.
The Dodge Magnum is a nameplate used by several Dodge vehicles, at different times and on various markets. The name was first applied to a large Chrysler B platform-based 2-door coupe marketed from 1978 to 1979 sold in the United States and Canada. From the 2005 to the 2008 model years, the nameplate was revived for a Charger-based station wagon on the rear-wheel drive Chrysler LX platform, produced in Canada and sold on the American and Canadian market.
The Dodge Coronet is an automobile that was marketed by Dodge in seven generations, and shared nameplates with the same bodyshell with varying levels of equipment installed. Introduced as a full-size car in 1949, it was the division's highest trim line and moved to the lowest level starting in 1955 through 1959. The name was reintroduced on intermediate-sized models from the 1965 until 1976 model years. Muscle car versions were available starting in 1965 with the 383 and 426 wedge cu in Chrysler RB engine, followed in 1966 by the powerful 426 cu in Chrysler Hemi. Other performance models included the "Superbee", and featured, the 383 cu in Magnum, among other engine options. The nameplate "coronet" is a type of crown worn by royalty.
The Dodge Super Bee is a mid-sized muscle car marketed by Dodge, that was produced for the 1968 through 1971 model years.
The Chrysler Hemi engine, known by the trademark Hemi or HEMI, refers to a series of high-performance American overhead valve V8 engines built by Chrysler with hemispherical combustion chambers. Three generations have been produced: the FirePower series from 1951 to 1958; a famed 426 cu in (7.0 L) race and street engine from 1964-1971; and family of advanced Hemis (displacing between 5.7 L 6.4 L from 2003 to 2024.
The Dodge Charger (1966), also known as Dodge Charger (B-body), is a mid-size automobile that was produced by Dodge from 1966 through 1978 model years, and was based on the Chrysler B platform.
Aero Warriors, also called aero-cars, is a nickname for four muscle cars developed specifically to race on the NASCAR circuit by Dodge, Plymouth, Ford and Mercury for the 1969 and 1970 racing seasons. The cars were based on production stock cars but had additional aerodynamic features.
American Muscle Car is a weekly television show on Speed, produced by Restoration Productions LLC., about muscle cars. Original release was in 2003. Each episode provides a timeline of each vehicle's history beginning with its first year of production to its most recent year of production. The show was initially designed to showcase traditional muscle cars such as the Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang, and Dodge Charger. It eventually added other performance vehicles such as the Shelby Cobra and the, and even began to focus on specific eras such as the (disambiguation)|. In 2006 season, the show's focus was expanded to include designers and engineers of muscle car era.
The 1970 Daytona 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series race held on February 22, 1970, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II is a muscle car that was produced by Mercury in early 1969. The Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was a special, more aerodynamic version of the Mercury Cyclone. It was produced specifically to compete against the Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird produced by Chrysler, and the nearly identical Ford Torino Talladega, in NASCAR stock car racing, and was sold to the public only because homologation rules required a minimum number of cars be produced and made available for sale to the public. All production examples were constructed during the first few weeks of 1969.
The Generation 2 in NASCAR refers to the cars used between 1967 and 1980. The second generation of stock cars featured stock body with a modified frame, and modified chassis became part of the sport with entities such as Holman-Moody, Banjo Matthews, and Hutchenson-Pagan building chassis for teams.