Heroshot

1970 Plymouth Road Runner

Superbird 2-Door Hardtop Coupe
Hemi
Big-money Mopars and more at Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas 2022
Thursday, 30 June - Saturday, 2 July 2022
$1,650,000
Sale Price
No
Reserve
2 July 2022
Sold Date
734
Lot Number
#2-
Older Restoration
Barrett-Jackson
Auction House
Chassis Number RM23R0A172589. Tor Red with a black vinyl roof over black vinyl. 426ci/425hp Hemi V-8, automatic, Rallye wheels, Goodyear Polyglas GT tires, hood pins, 3.55 Sure Grip, power steering, pushbutton AM radio.

Evaluation: Represented as matching numbers. There are a few blemishes and cracks on the nose as well as a few chips on the hood. Good, tight roof vinyl. Good interior. Nearly spotless detailed engine bay. Restored real deal Hemi Superbird and the star car of this auction.

Bottom Line: It was also the most expensive car of this auction. And the most expensive Superbird sold at auction to date, in fact. Plymouth built nearly 2000 Superbirds, the most famous of the short-lived NASCAR aero cars, but just 135 of them got the 426 Hemi engine. That combo of rarity and performance is why Hemi Superbirds can command around twice as much as a 440/390hp car. But even that only goes part of the way in explaining this record price.

For reference, B-J sold another automatic Hemi Superbird in the same colors but in lovely unrestored condition back in January for $990,000. Sure, the market has been hot, but million-dollar cars aren’t gaining 50 percent value in six months. Let’s also consider this – Mecum just sold a Charger Daytona for a record $1.32M in Indy. The Daytona, the Superbird’s Dodge-branded predecessor, is considerably rarer and more valuable, and the car in Indy was a well-documented genuine Hemi with a 4-speed. This sale therefore has us scratching our heads, and it’s probably safe to call it an outlier.

by Andrew Newton
8 July 2022

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