Plymouth SuperBird

When Ford began fitting air cleaving droop snoots to its Talladega NASCAR racers Chrysler realized it had to fight back with something even wider. There first attempt was the 68 Chrysler 500, based on the Dodge Charger, but the aerodynamics add-ons caused tail lift and it soon became clear the shape would need more dramatic changes if it was to gain any advantage. An 18 inch droop snoot was added which reduced front end lift so dramatically that a giant rear spoiler had to added to redress the balance. Combined with the 650 bhp full race tune these cars could lap NASCAR circuits at something in excess of 200 mph. The good news was Joe Public could buy a road version of this car, called the Charger Daytona – with up to 390 bhp, because manufactures were required by NASCAR to build 500 road car versions so as to homologate the model for racing.

Plymouth did their own adaptation, the Road Runner SuperBird (based on the Belvedere) in 1970, with to some extent different accompaniments, NASCAR rules now required that one had to be built for each two Plymouth sellers, which preordained a total number of 1900 were built to homologate the car for competition. In the hands of star drivers like Richard Petty, the Daytona and SuperBird cleaned up on the tracks in 1970, winning a total of 38 races of Ford’s 10. The time in the spotlight for the Charger Daytona and SuperBird was a short one. The rules changed in 1971 in favor of smaller capacity engines, leaving these wild Plymouth and Dodges as a potent reminder of one of American racing’s most exciting periods.