This beautiful 1970 Plymouth Road Runner HEMI Superbird is headed across the auction block at this weekend’s Barrett-Jackson event in Las Vegas. Painted in EV2 TorRed high-impact paint, the car is 1 of 135 HEMI Superbirds ever produced.
According to documentation, this car (RM23R0A172589) was built on Tuesday, December 2nd, 1969. All Superbirds were built between October 23rd and December 15th, 1969. A total of 1,723 Superbirds were built in that time to allow the car to meet NASCAR’s wing car homologation program.
The Superbird featured a smoothed-out body and a nosecone, similar to its Dodge Charger Daytona counterpart. However, the Plymouth version was more refined than the Dodge. A fiberglass nosecone which added an additional 19-inches of length to the Road Runner was fitted. The tall mounted rear wing, positioned the wing in less disturbed air thus increasing the efficiency of the downdraft that is placed upon the car’s rear axle. The rear-facing fender scoops were to hide cutouts that allowed wheel clearance due to the taller, wider wheels and lowered height of the car for NASCAR competition. For the street car, the fender scoops were purely for show.
While the race cars featured the 7.0-liter 426 cubic-inch “Race HEMI” V8, the street cars featured a trio of engine options. The standard engine was a 7.2-liter 440 cubic-inch Super Commando V8 with a 4-barrel setup. That engine delivered 375 horsepower and 480 lb.-ft. of torque using 9.7:1 compression. A 440 Super Commando with a 6-barrel carburetor setup producing 390 horsepower and 490 lb.-ft. of torque was optional. The legendary 426 “Street HEMI” V8 was also available with 426 horsepower and 490 lb.-ft. of torque.
This particular car is powered by its original numbers matching “Street HEMI” V8 engine mated to a TorqueFlite 727 automatic transmission and a Chrysler 8 ¾-inch with a 3.55 ratio sure grip axle. Being a HEMI car, it features power steering, power brakes with front discs, a max cooling package with a 7-blade fan, HEMI suspension with firm ride shocks as well as dual exhaust with chrome exhaust tips.
The exterior features a set of hood pins (J45), Superbird graphics package, and its original aero nose and rear wing, fender-mounted air scoops, and front spoiler.
Inside, the car was optioned in black, with the (TX9) interior paint matching its high-grade trimmed black vinyl seating with silver accents. The dash features the factory tachometer, correct pushbutton AM radio, heater/defroster, and three-spoke steering wheel with the Road Runner center cap. It currently rides on 15-inch Rallye wheels with Goodyear Polyglas raised white-letter tires.
The car includes a Wise inspection report, original build sheet, and owner’s manual. The car is part of the Lindley Collection, which features a number of classic Mopars. The Superbird has no reserve and hopefully will find a new home this weekend.
UPDATE: The car ended up going for $1,650,000 when it went across the auction block.
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