The pages of automotive history books are littered with homologation specials. Manufacturers developed these cars to qualify their latest and greatest for motorsport competition. Few categories are more cutthroat than NASCAR, and this 1970 Plymouth Superbird emerged in an era when manufacturers craved success to leverage the “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” philosophy. This Plymouth presents superbly following a recent meticulous restoration, while the original Hemi under its hood adds to its desirability. The Superbird is set to go to a new home, with the seller listing it here at Mecum Auctions. I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Mitchell G. for spotting an American icon that is set to cross the auction block in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Saturday, May 17th. If you are planning to make a play for this beauty, you may be interested to learn that the auction estimate is $600,000 – $700,000.
The word “subtle” could never be used to describe the 1970 Plymouth Superbird. Based on the iconic Road Runner, the company added a wedge nose, a huge rear spoiler, and other aerodynamic items to improve its chances of success on superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega. Our feature car presents superbly following a recent rotisserie restoration. The styling is striking, an impression heightened by the first owner’s decision to order the Plymouth in Lemon Twist with a Black vinyl top. Unsurprisingly, the car’s presentation is seemingly flawless. The paint holds an exceptional depth of color and shine, and the vinyl is perfect. The aero additions are free from physical damage, the graphics are crisp, and this classic is rust-free. Overall, there is nothing about its appearance that warrants criticism.
Plymouth offered 1970 Superbird buyers the choice of two versions of its 440ci V8, but those wishing to splash the extra cash could select the beautiful 426ci Hemi. This monster placed 425hp at the driver’s disposal, making these genuinely fast cars. The first owner ticked that box on the Order Form, teaming the Hemi with a three-speed A-727 TorqueFlite transmission, a 3.55 Performance Axle Package, power steering, and power front disc brakes. Only seventy-seven buyers chose that combination, making this a rare bird indeed. The seller confirms that this Plymouth is numbers-matching, an important factor considering the auction estimate. The original carburetors have just been restored, and while it isn’t stated categorically, it appears that this Superbird is a turnkey proposition.
The first owner continued the theme set by this Plymouth’s roof, trimming the interior in Black vinyl. It features bucket seats and a factory AM radio, but no creature comforts like air conditioning or power windows. Plymouth marketed the Superbird as a hard-edged performance model, and this car perfectly reflects that approach. Once again, there are no flaws or issues visible in the supplied photos. It would be best to consider the interior to be in as-new condition, and the Superbird wouldn’t look out of place on a showroom floor.
One of the laws of motorsport says that if one manufacturer builds a better mousetrap, another will build a better mouse. With cars like the Dodge Charger Daytona and Ford’s Torino Talladega already gracing tracks, Plymouth joined the party in 1970 with the Superbird. These cars didn’t prove to be a sales success as potential buyers were deeply divided by the styling. Only 1,935 examples left the factory and, of those, only 77 buyers teamed the Hemi with an automatic transmission. The Hemi/4-speed is slightly rarer, but it is virtually guaranteed you won’t spot an identical car on your daily travels. The auction estimate will mean that the potential buyer pool won’t be huge, but do you think it will pass the upper estimate before the hammer falls? I won’t be surprised if it does.
Great color combination. The yellow really pops with the black top and interior. Does anyone else notice the fitment looks off between the hood and the front nose cone? For this kind of money I would expect better. I would like to take her for a drive! That’s for sure!
That’s because the nose was a tacked-on feature and fit and finish were never that great in the early 70s cars in general.
Smokeshow burnout 🔥💨 not likely 😑
I noticed the hood alignment too but these and alot of cars at that time didn’t line up very well We’re these assembled by an outside vender
I’ve had pleasure of driving a 426 hemi it was nice to the privilege, but my buddy had a full race prepped 440 in a Dodge dart built by herb McCandless I can honestly say the 440 was a much faster ride
When I high school, one of my girl “friends” brother had a ’70 Hemi GTX, 4 speed. One of the days I took her home from school, he had left it there, and ridden with a buddy to his work. She asked if I wanted to drive it. She didn’t have to ask twice. Unquestionably the most powerful car I have ever had the privilege to be behind the wheel of. Nothing else has ever compared.
For my 700 grand, I’d want my Superbird to have the 4-speed and lose the vinyl roof. Thank you very much.
ALL Superbirds came with vinyl roofs.
I agree, the automatic on the column kind of ruins it for me, and I’m a big hater of vinyl tops. But all Superbirds and Daytonas, I’ve read, came with vinyl roofs. Something about the area around the rear window being filled for less drag, and Chryco. covered it up with the vinyl roof.
Daytona’s did not have vinyl tops.
Steve R
A lot of Superbirds came with a column shift and a bench seat, but the buckets, no console, and column shift on this one seem a bit unusual. I like it this way!
Dodge only had to build 500 Daytonas to homologate it for Nascar, so Lynch Road Assembly bodyworked the rear window plug to the point that they could be sold with a slick top.
When Plymouth decided to go the winged car route for 1970 the rules had changed. They were required to build one Superbird for every two Plymouth dealers, and Chrysler’s bean counters determined that the number of man hours required to bodywork the rear window plug on over 1,900 cars to the same standard as was done on the Daytonas was greater than the cost of materials and labor to install vinyl tops to hide the crude bodywork, so a black vinyl top was standard on every Superbird.
Occasionally you’ll see a restored Superbird with a white vinyl top. Know that those are not factory.
I looked at a bunch of images on line and while there were some hood fitments that weren’t great, they were better than this vehicle. For the level of restoration, you would think that would get fixed, unless it’s just the angle of the photos.
Terry, all Superbirds sold to the public had a vinyl roof to cover up the rear window plug seam.
I hear complaints about the price of first generation Broncos because they were bone shattering to ride in. Well I was around when these behemoths were new and on the streets yes they were fast but try and park one even at car shows they get a extra big space and IMO they were homely then and still are, even Chrysler had to remove the nose and wing on remaining ones to get rid of them so why would anyone pay a half a million or more for one other than to say I got one and you don’t.
I’ve never understood why every single one of these wasn’t built with a four-speed.
Unless I am mistaken, these specialty vehicles were final assembled by Creative Industries in Detroit, Michigan.
I believe you could not special order a Superbird, they were plucked off the factory floor as Road Runners and sent to Creative Industries to be converted. As the random RR was configured, thus that particular SB. As far as air conditioning was concerned, I don’t think any hemi had it, nor any SB. SB had enough under hood room for the plumbing, maybe not enough cooling with the nose cone? All I do know for sure is many a dealer lost money on these sales as they practically had to give them away. Not unusual to see on trashed by a high school kid in the early 80s. I could have bought a boat load of them for a song, but who knew? Either way, I thought they were ugly and impractical. For the time, a Duster 340 4sp made so much more sense. That you could get with air, BTW.
🎯 👍
Sorry. I’d rather spend $600k on a Ferrari or Lamborghini that has international appeal rather than this car. I can see the market for these vehicles plummeting as boomers go
I’d still be interested.
My uncle had a brand new Super bird with 440, 4 speed. I remember the pistol grip shifter sticking up in front of the bench seat. He kept it a few months and traded it for an AAR ‘Cuda.
They had a hard time selling the cars they produced in 1970. Some sat on dealer lots. Now, $600-$700K!
Finally, a true barn find that is totally affordable by everyone on this site.
These are dropping in value and mostly go for between !00 and 200k. The column shift automatic is a deal killer and you never see these on the road, only at car shows so it’s going to take some pretty deep pockets to afford this one.
Not exactly a barn find. But as mentioned boomers like me are getting old. Prices on these cars will fall. Plus they are too valuable to actually drive any distance on today’s clogged roads full of soccer moms on their 4th cup of Starbucks tailgating like Dale Earnhardt at Daytona.