The Dodge Charger Daytona, which debuted in 1969, revolutionized the muscle car industry with a daring look that gave it the moniker “winged warrior.” Plymouth followed with the Superbird in 1970 because it also wanted a piece of the NASCAR homologation action. The Mopar twins were nearly identical, but they experienced daylight in quite different proportions.
For example, Dodge produced only 503 Daytonas, which was sufficient to satisfy the 1969 NASCAR homologation standards. In the US, the sanctioning organization increased that ratio to one manufacturer’s dealer for every two in 1970. This meant that Plymouth had to produce 1,920 units. The manufacturer produced 1,935 vehicles, about four times as many as Dodge.
And this makes a big difference nowadays when the Daytona is viewed as the first and the rarest of the “winged warriors.” Granted, the HEMI cars are just as expensive regardless of the badge (some are worth more than $1 million), but the 440-powered Superbirds are generally viewed as more common and slightly less desirable than their Daytona counterparts. Unless we’re talking about unrestored and unmolested survivors, which are incredibly hard to find nowadays. The white Superbird you see here is one of those rare gems.
This Superbird was retired from public roads in 1984 for an unspecified cause, and it sat idle for a remarkable 39 years until being restarted. Surprisingly, it is not only intact but also seems to be rust-free and to be quite original.
This Mopar is prone to acquire rust during long-term storage, so the fact that the Plymouth survived in this condition is astounding. Sure, the white body with black graphics pairing isn’t the most appealing. However, it’s safe to presume that it was kept in a reasonably dry storage environment and received lots of attention throughout the years.
Making things that much more exciting, it comes with quite a few features that make Superbirds highly desirable to “winger warrior” gearheads. It still has the dashboard VIN, the door sticker, the fender tag, and the rear fender decals. The owner also claims that all the sheet metal is original, as is all the glass.
Is it also a numbers-matching rig when it comes to the drivetrain? Yes, it is! Both the 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) V8 and the automatic transmission are the ones that came from the factory, and both have their original stamps to prove it. Moreover, the original carburetor is still present under the hood. And yes, the engine still runs!
The four-barrel 440 V8 was the Superbird’s base engine, ranking below the six-barrel 440 and the 426 HEMI with a 375 horsepower rating when it was new. Yes, with 1,084 machines constructed, it is the most prevalent of the three, but only 626 of these mills were mated to the automatic transmission. This Superbird is not as popular as it might seem if the options are taken into account as well. The “winged warrior” was specified with a transverse stripe deletion and a bucket-seat interior in charcoal/black, according to the decoding of the VIN.
But here’s a somewhat exotic fact about this fine survivor. The Superbird is registered with Belgian plates and is for sale in the Netherlands. So if you’re living in Europe and you’ve been planning on getting a Superbird, this is a rare opportunity. Because only a few of these “winged warriors” made it across the ocean.