on the final lap. Bob McCurry was not happy. At all.
During the run-up to the event, John Pointer and Bob Marcell had each sketched out the next generation car in theory. Convention did not matter; only function mattered. The plan was to add a quite pointed nose rather than one that simply sloped. In addition, instead of a small deck spoiler, they wanted one of enough consequence to literally plant the back end of the car to the racetrack. With McCurry on the warpath, they showed him the rudimentary ideas.
“It’s ugly,” he reportedly said to the aerostylists, then added, “Will it win?”
They told him, “Yes, it would.”
That settled, he gave it his final approval, and it was a no-holds-barred chase for its release. Work began in earnest using everything learned in the Charger 500 program to add an extended nose and figure out the spoiler design. This became more critical when noting that ACCUS intended to meet in late April 1969 to re-evaluate production numbers.
A number of things were discovered during this development process. Once the nose was configured properly, a set of front fender scoops was authorized for tire clearance, but they actually functioned more as air extractors. The rear wing was designed with an inverted Clark Y-style aircraft horizontal spoiler. It was styled high enough to clear the open deck lid. Using a pair of rear-fender-mounted streamlined uprights actually made this wing even more functional; the upright’s slab-sided shape was capable of straightening out the car in the event of drifting or air speed coming from anywhere but the front.
The requisite number was again 500, with six months advance notice given. As a result, the new Charger Daytona was formally introduced and shown to the press in the middle of April, with the implicit desire to have it debut at the new Talladega track in mid-September. ACCUS ruled mere weeks later that the new minimums going forward were one unit for every two dealerships.
The next step forward was a moonshot; the 1969 Charger Daytona looked like nothing that had ever appeared from any manufacturer. This Omaha Orange example, in the vicinity of an airplane propeller, was once in the Wellborn Museum’s collection. (Photo Courtesy Quartermilestones.com)
The cartoon on the wing notwithstanding, Plymouth’s Superbird was all business. (Photo Courtesy Quartermilestones.com)
The Daytona was truly an exercise in function; its look also had novelty and Dodge rode that wave into its dealerships as the cars began to show up in the latter half of 1969. Created from the normal Charger R/T packaging, all Daytonas were Hemi- or 440 Magnum–powered. In most cases they offered minimal extra options and base sold for little more than the conventional Charger R/T.
To facilitate construction as quickly as possible, Dodge turned to a Detroit-area fabrication firm, Creative Industries. Having worked on the Charger 500 program as well, Creative was tasked with constructing and installing the noses and wings, and making other changes to Charger R/Ts created on the assembly line. This included a large wraparound rear “scat stripe” that read “DAYTONA.” Working with engineer Dale Reeker from Chrysler, the parts were rapidly designed and all production issues dealt with quickly. Some immediate problems cropped up from the stylists, until McCurry stepped in and told them to shut up and back off. The Daytona arrived in time to help inaugurate the first race run at the Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega. It also won there.
Meanwhile, although Richard Petty had won a couple of races in his new Ford, it was not a great romance. Like Dodge, Ford had its own share of superstars, and they tended to get preferential treatment. The Petty team’s long experience with Chrysler Hemi engines no doubt aided them as Ford’s new Boss 429 had also arrived for 1969, and having the aero-styled Torino body was likely better than trying to tool around at 180 mph in a Road Runner, even if that vehicle had been named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year in 1969.
When Petty made statements that life was not perfect, Plymouth quickly got the hint. In June, some Chrysler people made quiet inquiries as to whether Mr. Petty would be interested in discussing a future back with Plymouth. He would. If they built a competitive aero-model, he would come back, but there would be a cost. In addition to money for racing Plymouths again, Petty Enterprises would also receive the corporation’s entire circle track parts distribution and contract-racing business for which Ray Nichels/Paul Goldsmith were currently responsible. The authorization for that change reportedly went all the way to Chairman of the Board Lynn Townsend, who signed off on it.
The new ACCUS minimum requirement meant that Plymouth needed to build almost 2,000 units. Changes in federal headlamp laws, slated to go into effect on January 1, 1970, meant that the Daytona-type concealed headlamp design had to be off the assembly line before then. The stylists intended to get some comeuppance for Dodge’s indiscretions, and took some. To top it off, the company had just six months to pull it all off.
The result was the Plymouth Superbird.
A “flock” of Superbirds at a Mopar show in St. Louis. Sold under option A13, these cars were all built with standard equipment upgrades and deletes, becoming unique collector cars today. (Photo Courtesy Quartermilestones.com)
The Plymouth Superbird being built as a production model could only have happened during the era in which it was actually created. The amount of money, time, and frustration expended is almost shocking, but it reveals once again that Chrysler was all in when it came to special vehicle programs related to racing, as well as overcoming the problems associated with them. In this chapter, I discuss both the basic development of the Superbird as a potential production car and the challenges that creating more than 1,900 examples on the production line presented.
The exact date that initial development on Plymouth’s wing actually began is unknown. It is probable that rough-drawn designs were played with a little before the company even talked with Richard Petty in June 1969. Although subcontractor Creative Industries of Detroit did not build the cars, in the end it was Chrysler engineers and stylists in that firm’s offices who played a primary role in getting the project from theory to functionality. Frank Moriarty laid the initial groundwork for understanding this project in his books Supercars (out of print) and Top Speed.
It was this redesign of the 1970 Coronet’s front sheet metal that helped Plymouth finalize plans for the Superbird, which used the Dodge fenders and a modified version of the hood.
John Herlitz, manager of Plymouth’s intermediate design studio, later recalled that his introduction to this program occurred when the race group contacted him to come to Creative and look at a proposal for a winged Plymouth, which was initially noted as the Belvedere-Daytona. Herlitz was already an unflattering critic of the radical treatment given to the Charger Daytona. He noted immediately that changes were necessary from this initial concept to make the ideas more palatable to the general buying public.
For example, it had been hoped that Dodge Charger fenders could in some way be adapted to the Belvedere-Daytona. Because of the Plymouth’s bodylines, Herlitz immediately recognized that blending those two styles was impossible. However, Dodge had just redesigned the 1970 front clip for the Coronet line; it was slightly more rounded than before but similar to upcoming front sheet metal changes for the 1970 Belvedere line. Using those fenders and their associated hood was the first step to adding a streamlined