1970 Plymouth Road Runner with Hemi engine and "Air Grabber" retractable hood scoop

The Plymouth Road Runner was a car built by Plymouth in the United States between 1968 and 1980. In 1968, the original batch of muscle cars were in the opinion of many moving away from their roots as relatively cheap fast cars as they gained more and more options. Although Plymouth already had a performance car, the GTX, they decided to go back to the drawing board and reincarnate the original muscle car concept.

Paying $50,000 to Warner Brothers to use the name and cartoon likeness of their Road Runner cartoon character (as well as a "beep-beep" horn!), and using the Plymouth version of the B-body as a base (the same base as the Belvedere, Satellite and GTX), Plymouth set out to build a back-to-basics muscle car. Everything essential to performance and handling was beefed-up and improved; everything inessential was left out. The interior was spartan, lacking even carpets, and few options were available. The standard engine was Mopar's old favorite 383 cubic inch (6.3 l) V8 rated at 335 bhp (250 kW) and 425 lb-ft (576 Nm) of torque; for an extra $714 Plymouth would fit a 426 cubic inch (7 l) Hemi rated at 425 bhp (317 kW) and 490 lb-ft (664 Nm).

Plymouth expected to sell a couple of thousand of these in 1968. Actual sales numbered around 45,000, and these original 1968 model cars are considered classics.

Plymouth dealers gave away this promotional windbreaker in 1970. The "heart with an arrowhead at bottom" design was part of Plymouth's ad campaign that year. The Road Runner is holding a helmet with the same symbol on it.

1969's model was little changed; while the 383 engine remained the standard powerplant, a special 440 cubic inch (7.2 l)V8 with 3x2 barrel carburetors rated at 390 bhp and 475 lb-ft was optional along with carpeting, exterior trim packages, and a convertible model. The car was named Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year for 1969. Sales almost doubled, to 82,109. 1970 was a complete redesign of the car to offer an all new updated look for this year only before changing designs to the later 'fuselage' design from 1971 through 1974 when the Roadrunner became just an option package. For 1970, the Road Runner served as the basis for Plymouth's only true supercar, the outrageous and barely street-legal Superbird.

In 1971, the bodywork was completely changed, to a more rounded, somewhat shark-like shape with deeply inset grille and headlights. That year saw the writing on the wall for the muscle car, and performance was already down thanks to new emissions and fuel economy legislation. The 1972 model was nearly identical to the 1971, the tail lights, side lights and grill being the only obvious differences. The 1973 and 1974 models showed a squaring of the lines. The front fenders were also slightly raised above and jutted forward of the hood. Otherwise the most marked change from 1971 through 1974 was steadily decreasing power output. 1974's model was really the last true muscle car Road Runner.

1975's model was (for one year only) based on the Plymouth Fury, and after 1976's switch to a Plymouth Volare platform, the Road Runner was barely more than a trim and graphics package on what was fundamentally an economy car. These, Road Runners in name only, were built through 1980 before Plymouth dropped the model altogether.

External Links

Muscle Car Club pages:

• Road Runner (http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclecars/plymouth-roadrunner/plymouth-roadrunner.shtml)
• Superbird (http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclecars/plymouth-superbird/plymouth-superbird.shtml)
• GTX (http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclecars/plymouth-gtx/plymouth-gtx.shtml)