1970 Plymouth Superbird muscle car sold for record $1.65 million
NASCAR special breaks old record by over 50%
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It's still the King.
A 1970 Plymouth Superbird was auctioned at the Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas event this past weekend for a record amount.
The Superbird was developed, along with the Dodge Charger Daytona, with NASCAR racing in mind.
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Its signature nosecone and rear wing were designed for high-speed tracks like the Daytona and Talladega superspeedways. They worked so well that the rules were changed to slow them down due to safety concerns, leading to their disappearance from the Cup Series.
This 1970 Plymouth Superbird was sold for a record $1.65 million. (Barrett-Jackson)
Nevertheless, the blue Superbirds driven by Richard "The King" Petty became so iconic during their short careers that a character voiced by Petty was depicted as one in the animated classic "Cars."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The car is still equipped with its factory 426 cubic-inch Hemi V8. (Barrett-Jackson)
The fully restored Tor-Red auction car is one of just 135 that were equipped with Plymouth's legendary 426 cubic-inch Hemi V8 and still has its original engine.
The Superbird has been fully restored. (Barrett-Jackson)
Its nosecone and wing are also factory equipment, and the car is equipped with a TorqueFlite automatic transmission, power steering and brakes, an optional max cooling package an AM radio and a heater/defroster, but no air conditioning.
Richard Petty drove the No. 43 Superbird during the 1970 NASCAR Cup Series season against several Dodge Daytonas Bobby Isaac. (ISC Images Archives via Getty Images)
The Superbird crossed the block without reserve and the seller was rewarded for taking the risk, because it went for a model record $1.65 million, eclipsing the previous high price of $990,000 paid for a similar car in January.
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It also beat out its rival from Dodge, which saw a new auction record set in May when a 1969 example was sold for $1.3 million.