Читать книгу 1970 Plymouth Superbird - Geoff Stunkard - Страница 8

INTRODUCTION

The era covered in the following pages is unique in automotive history. The power of “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday” marketing actually came to its peak moment just as the Plymouth Superbird arrived on the scene. Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler started the 1970 model year with very aggressive performance car marketing; this special vehicle was one of many that came out in the 1969–1970 model era to homologate, or legalize, components for racing. To the companies involved, victory was worth that much.

By the end of that year, however, there had been wholesale changes as Detroit began focusing all energies on urgent and upcoming government regulations. The Superbird, built on a tight schedule in limited numbers, not only fell from grace in the OEM environment but also on the very racetracks it had been created for, as NASCAR made radical rules changes in 1971 to basically eliminate these special packages. Perhaps looked upon oddly as street cars when first released, ownership of one of these vehicles became a goal of the earliest efforts at collecting muscle cars a mere decade later.

A parallel movement by fans of NASCAR started with gatherings and clubs specifically for these unique aerocars, and by the 21st Century, their values had become well established, justifying expensive restorations and purchase prices. In this book, I recount some facts that have been recognized in prior tomes, as well as provide additional background on how the Superbird came to be, how it performed in its over-too-soon moment in competition, and its modern-day popularity. Come fly with us.

Collector Don Fezell’s unrestored low-mileage U-code Superbird was part of his amazing racing and muscle car collection. It sold at Mecum’s 2017 auction in Florida.