The machine has yet to be invented that can measure my desire for the fifth-generation Fuselage Plymouths. We had a ’69 Fury III when I was a teenager, and I wish we had kept it. It had a 318, and it wasn’t a hardtop, like this 1971 Plymouth Fury Gran Coupe with a 360 V8. This paisley survivor is listed here on Hemmings in Nesconset, NY, and they’re asking $11,500. Thanks to Rex K. for the tip!
Thank you, pre-government-5-mph-bumpers! They wouldn’t do much good in an actual crash, let alone a parking lot ding-fest, but these bumpers are great, visually. Some folks may be asking, “What’s the deal with this thing being called a Gran Coupe, SG? Let alone the “Coupe” part when it has four doors, but Gran instead of Grand?” Gran was an interesting name. One more letter and you have Grand, two more and you have Grande. It was marketing 101 and Plymouth used it a few times. The Coupe part may be due to the hardtop look, and they also came in a two-door version. Did I mention the Gran Coupe came with headlight washers? They’re somewhat rare to see today on modern vehicles, let alone in 1971.
There was also a Barracuda Gran Coupe, and other models. The Gran Coupe in this instance is related to the recently decommissioned Plymouth VIP, which came with a unique paisley vinyl top and interior pattern on the seats and door panels. The paisley pattern vinyl top on this car is glorious, and it appears in excellent condition. In fact, the seller says this car is absolutely rust-free (!!!), is originally from California, and then went to Oklahoma. They bought it at the Hershey meet in Pennsylvania 13 years ago. There are a few nicks and scratches, given its 54-year-old age. I have more scratches than this car does.
The memories are overwhelming. The cool night lighting on the gauges and the non-working AC. Well, that part isn’t good, but ours quit working as well, and my dad wasn’t one for having air-conditioning fixed in a town known as “The Air-Conditioned City.” The entire interior appears almost new, with the exception of a couple of cracks on the top of the dash and a small separation on the driver’s seat. The seats, both front and rear, look perfect and very 70s stylish in the paisley pattern inserts. We don’t see inside the trunk, but we do see underneath, and it does look solid, with just the usual surface rust.
The engine compartment is much cleaner than most fifth-generation (1969-’73) Fury examples that we see. Some light detailing would make this car a show-stopper. This is Plymouth’s 360-cu.in. OHV V8, which had 255 (gross) horsepower and 360 lb-ft of torque. It rolls through a TorqueFlite automatic to the rear wheels, and the seller says it runs and drives perfectly, and it sure is unique and beautiful. Have any of you seen a Fury Gran Coupe with a paisley top and interior?
Very cool Plymouth 😎
If ANY those photos ARE of the car for sale, it’s the first time I’ve seen a 4 door Coupe!
Check out your local BMW dealer
This was my first car & I always wondered why it was called a Gran Coupe!
Modern Sedans were marketed as coupes on account of the flowing rooflines and stubby back ends. This coincided with the death of actual coupes except for the few we have now.
And in the meantime destroyed the last bit of the utility found in sedans with that nonsense.
They’re not coupes. That’s all marketing. Just like the MINI “Hardtop” is not in any way a hardtop.
In MoPar tongue, this is INDEED a “Gran Sedan”–not a coupe. If a nameplate anywhere on this car says “coupe” it was either a misplacement at the factory, or someone over the past 54 years has no idea what a ‘coupe’ even is! My dad had a `73 Plymouth Gran Sedan so I know both monikers were utilized. A beautiful, very complete `71 if I do say so myself. The “paisley” top and interior is scarce making this a rather unusual find. GLWTA!
Incorrect. This a totally factory car and not personalized or mistakenly trimmed. Gran Coupe as a four door was only in 1971 if I recall correctly. However, the 1972 equivalent of this was actually a Gran Sedan.
Great looking Fury. Good example of Plymouth making cheap cool!
Yes that’s right, two and four door versions. The “Gran Coupe” was a mid-season release, based on the Fury II two-door sedan but bundled with a number of otherwise extra-cost options including air conditioning and concealed headlights but what was more obvious was the paisley theme, a patterned vinyl roof with matching upholstery, most Gran Coupes finished in a newly created copper tone paint although other colors were available.
The Gran Coupe was retained for 1971 but used the more elegant pillarless hardtop in both two and four-door models, the latter still known as a coupe That attracted criticism from those who had come to associate the word exclusively with two-door bodywork but in the UK Rover had since 1962 offered a four-door “Coupé” although they did cut the P5’s roof-line a little, a nod to the history of the word coupé (from the French coupé, an elliptical form of carosse coupé (cut carriage), past participle of couper (to cut)).
Shamelessly, Plymouth ignored the etymology and invented the un-cut coupe, also imposing some restraint on buyers: although the Gran Coupe was available in a variety of colors, only if the standard interior trim (tan) was chosen would the Paisley patterned upholstery be available and, befitting the likely ownership of the full-size line, the vinyl roof was subdued rather than the swirling psychedelia of the groovy Mod Top’s swirls. In the twenty-first century the “four door coupe” became a thing but although Rover seems to have been the first to apply a “Coupé” badge, the now familiar motifs were seen in some coach-built four-doors during the inter-war years, some big Duesenbergs and Buccialis among the most memorable.
These are such beautiful cars. Love the hidden headlights and loop bumper. Great 70s brown shades. What could be better? More under the hood. Yeah, that would be all.
I’m old enough to remember when this was simply called a “4-door hardtop”, like my dad’s ’69 Electra 225. And all the fuss about the paisley top and not one close-up pic? Started the launch sequence and then cancelled the launch….
In 1971, the 360 Fury was quite punchy…way better than the 318!
And this one must have the “thermogator” 4-barrel carb. A friend had a 72 fury back around 1979 or so with the 360 4-barrel thermoquad carb.
That carburetor was often nicknamed the Thermobog, but if properly set up and maintained it was quite reliable.
My first car was a 70 Fury III w/ 383 passed down from my parents to me in high school. Power was more than adequate for a new driver with room for all of my friends and supplies to head to the beach.
Nice! My Dad had a green ‘71 Fury III with black top and a 383 2bbl. Long legs! Nice hiway ride.
Not a coupe, but a 4 Dr Hardtop. Bad year IMO.
Correctly set up/adjusted etc the Carter Thermoquad was an impressive piece of equipment: small primaries for fuel economy and gigantic secondaries for unmatched (and I mean it) rapid acceleration – like really rapid.
The hangup was that when the gigantic secondaries dumped their load – if not carefully adjusted that sudden “dump” could bog (hence the nickname) the car for maybe “1 Mississippi” before the hood (and rest of the car) suddenly aimed for moon. WOW. I had a couple of these – but the one I remember was on a 67 Charger with 440
Police heads. Just unbelievable!!!
Barracuda Gran Coup was available as a convertible
There was a time the English would have called such a thing a “drophead coupé”. Rolls-Royce in 2007 revived the term for the Phantom convertible.
The convertible was a two-door, so technically it was a “coupe”, but with a soft top. A Gran Coupe convertible got all of the upgraded interior and exterior trim pieces as a hardtop Gran Coupe, but for obvious reasons did not get the overhead console nor the smaller “luxury” back window.
The convertible was a two-door, so technically it was a “coupe”, but with a soft top. A Gran Coupe convertible got all of the upgraded interior and exterior trim pieces as a hardtop Gran Coupe, but for obvious reasons did not get the overhead console nor the smaller “luxury” back window.