Any Plymouth Road Runner Superbird is a rare beast, as only 1,900 of these NASCAR odes were built, but that number goes down to just 135 when talking about the 426 HEMI motor. And when you factor in a numbers-matching example like this one, you end up with an exquisitely rare bird (pun intended). However, the tale of this vehicle, which used to sport a red, white and blue paintjob, is more complex than that.
Back in 1970, the Plymouth Superbird borrowed the extreme recipe of the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona and achieved massive NASCAR laurels. Thanks to aero tricks like the nose cone, super-sized wing and the front wing air extractors, this Mopar motorsport tool won no less than 18 NASCAR races. And ten of those victories were brought home by the legendary Richard Petty (here’s what the “The King” is up to these days).
And while the road versions of these banked oval pioneers challenged public perception five decades ago, they only convinced a limited number of customers. Nowadays, though, these aero cars are highly treasured collectibles and, as mentioned, this particual Plymouth has quite a story to tell—it is July 4th, after all!
The Mopar spent most of its life in storage
We came across the vehicle during the daily Instagram stroll, with the vehicle being featured by Dalton James Vandenbogaerde (aka red_dirt_mopars). Nowadays, this Plymouth, which still features the original engine and gearbox, sports its factory color combo, which involves a Limelight Green exterior and a white interior. However, things weren’t always so.
As mentioned in the title, this Superbird, which features the spectacularly engaging combination between a 426 HEMI and a four-speed manual, used to sport the American flag colors on the outside, before it got resprayed back in 2014 as part of a complete restoration.
Now, as confirmed by Illinois-based Magnum Auto Restoration, which handled the job back in 2014, the current owner of the car (aka hemi.superbird.7 or Mike Hemisuperbird Fitzgerald on Instagram) acquired the vehicle in the condition seen in the first two images back in 1972.
The company confirmed that the enthusiasts got the vehicle with the factory engine and four-speed manual (would you look at the pistol grip shifter!), so perhaps the red, white and blue painjob had adorned the vehicle for more than 42 years.
Regardless, with the vehicle having spent over four decades in storage, the said colors appeared in pretty bad shape. And while having it painted this way was probably a thing back in the day, the collectible aura of the vehicle is a solid agument for restoring the car to its factory exterior hue.
The specialist also explains that, when the man bought the car, the mighty HEMI was in the trunk, as it had spun a bearing. Fortunately, the motor received all the attention it deserves, and we can now see it shining in the engine bay.
It’s probably a seven-figure classic
The value of such a vehicle? This looks like a seven-figure Mopar. Sure, Youtuber Tyler Hoover (aka Hoovie’s Garage) got a Superbird for as little as $130,000, but that was a scam.
However, a car with this sort of spec and condition is something else. In fact, such an example recently set a new Superbird record at the Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas 2022 event, trading hands for a whopping $1.65 million.
