The muscle car era shifted gears in the mid-1970s. Performance models went from being potential fire breathers in the late 1960s to flashy decal and sticker cars that mostly just looked fast. Two of these cars were from Chrysler during the same model year, 1978. They were the Plymouth Volare and Dodge Aspen Super Coupe. The seller has a nice example of the former, which saw only 494 copies built (plus 531 Aspens). With some upgrades, the seller’s car might just live up to its name. Located in Lake City, South Carolina, this Mopar is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $10,500.
Chrysler launched the F-body Volare and Aspen in 1976 to replace the aging Valiant and Dart. These vehicles brought little to the equation from the engineering side, and quality control problems resulted in a flurry of recalls. Perhaps hoping to remake the image of these Plymouth and Dodge brands. If you bought one of these, you got either a 318 or 360 cubic inch V8, a beefed-up suspension, mods to the fenders and spoilers, and snappy visual graphics (and a black matte hood). Helping the cars handle better were wider tires and wheels.
The Super Coupe was an evolution of the Volare Road Runner and Aspen R/T models, which Chrysler trotted out in 1976. But a Slant-Six as standard equipment, even in a fuel-conscious era, didn’t help the sales of these models either. The seller’s car presents well at 113,000 miles with what may be a rust-free body and good white paint (but what about the grille?). The interior is red and features bucket seats. The seller has owned this car for more than 25 years, having acquired it from the first caretaker.
We suspect this Super Coupe puts out more power than it did when new, with Edelbrock touches here and there, headers, and a modern exhaust system (catalytic converters?). The tires are new, and the TorqueFlite automatic transmission has been rebuilt. We’re told it starts every time, and it is a car that you can drive anywhere. If you were to buy a Volare, the Super Coupe is the one to search for. An attaboy goes to “PRA4SNW” for the tip!
They were great looking cars,among the best looking of the malaise years.The shame is they were so poorly built and had such fatal flaws,especially concerning areas that trapped water and rusted while still making payments.If you were a teen in the 70’s,seeing a Volare Roadrunner or an Aspen R/T was cool as heck.
Fenders were redesigned for the 1978 model year. They didn’t rust. 76 and 77 were a different story.
Having a real hard time trying to believe this is a real Super Coupe.
Someone cloning a Volare. That would be a first!
So someone took off the fender flares, and someone painted it white, and someone got rid of those great looking 15×8 wheels.
thats what you are having a hard time with? not the white bumpers,door locks ,door handles and the chicken wire front grille
Agree….not a Super Coupe…..just wearing the stickers…..
Ridiculous price given the condition. That might be feasible if it weren’t in need of restoration, but like this? C’mon!
Nice find, leave it to Barn Finds, to jog your memory from when these were on the road, and available .👍
Well here’s a “muscle” car from the “malaise era”, that at least gave it a decent shot. Still, these V8s were pretty choked off in the name of clean air, and all you really got was an appearance package with sporty interior. Mostly show, little go. This one’s in decent shape but its priced like a classic Mopar. No thanks.
Not being a Mopar or No Car guy. I never knew these existed! I do remember the Road Runner versions, and the hilarious Richard Petty stock car clones.
Selling and can’t even list displacement?
I assume this car was repainted to make it white?? Were they all the same color or was there choices. I saw a nice one last summer and it turned my head. A nice one would be kind of special.
Peak malaise…
Volare Super Coupes all had a dark red as their primary color. Judging by the firewall, this one was white from the start. Super Coupes also had prominent wheel opening flares, a chin spoiler, and 15×8 steel wheels, all missing here. Can’t say I blame someone from turning an ordinary Volare into a Super Coupe, but this is a half-hearted attempt, at best.
..and still couldn’t get out of their own way. If it had “lean burn” you’re lucky if the thing even started.
neat but i never heard or seen 1 till this listing. i think the ask price is a bit of a stretch
Pretty rough for 10 Gs
Guess I should put my actual super rare 81 Rabbit S up for 15 grand… needing restored…
Some dreamers Aspen. Had a graphics shop make the decals. Steering wheel cover and sewer cover grill add value !!!!
Somebody show me an Aspen or Volare Sport Wagon! Now they’re rare!
Thanks for picking this one up, Russ.
The seller never claims it is a Super Coupe, but it doesn’t look too bad as far as Volares go. Agreed that the asking price is high, so this probably won’t be going anywhere until that number is lowered by several 1000s.
There’s a less than 0% chance this is a Super Coupe. Coulda been a RoadRunner. But not a SuperCoupe. Who would go through the trouble of painting EVERYTHING white? Finding the CORRECT wheel well moldings AND filling all the holes from the fender flares? There’s no way.