The 1970 Plymouth Superbird was only built for one season for one reason: King Richard Petty.
He was nicknamed King Richard because the racing legend blew the doors off the competition for many years as Mopar’s greatest racing monarch.
Jim Sutherland
In 1969, Petty raced under the Blue Oval (Ford) flag because of a dispute with Plymouth about their race cars. King Richard was a highly competitive driver who was disappointed with Plymouth’s race car design-particularly since Chrysler stablemate Dodge created an ultra-slick race model known as the Charger Daytona.
The result was Plymouth created their own race-ready winged wonder and called it the Superbird because it was a wild version of the very popular Plymouth Road Runner. Plymouth made the right decision and was able to bring Richard Petty back into the Mopar family with the debut of the 1970 Superbird.
Petty knew the sleek and radical design of the Superbird was enough to propel him back into the winner’s circle on NASCAR racetracks.
The Plymouth Superbird was a one-year wonder that complied with NASCAR rules that required a minimum of 1900 Superbird street models to be built in 1970. The total production number for street legal Superbirds was 1935. The street versions were only sold with 426 Hemi or 440 big block engines and looked race-ready right out of the showroom.
The actual Superbird race cars dominated the NASCAR tracks in 1970 and won 18 races that year, including 8 wins by the King. It was the stuff of legends but 1970 would be the last year for winged wonders after NASCAR ruled Chrysler could no longer use monster Hemi engines in their Plymouth Superbird and Dodge Daytona race cars.
The NASCAR rule changes ended Superbird production, but it did not end the iconic car’s legendary place in the car hobby. They were outrageously designed cars with huge horsepower, even in street form, so Superbirds took their place among the elite legends of domestic production cars.
Marty Rissi is the proud owner of the 569th Plymouth Superbird built on November 24,1969 during its one-year production run in 1970. He has owned the car for over 20 years and built many fond memories along the way.
Marty has immersed himself in the NASCAR culture over the years and fulfilled his dream to own a Superbird because he is a Mopar guy and loves the race history of the NASCAR supercars.
Marty has even taken his Superbird on the Talladega super speedway three times over the years, most recently in 2024 when he was allowed to take his Superbird on the high banks of the track. Marty told MyStarCollectorCar he hit speeds of 115-120 mph on the banks and was understandably happy with the experience, given the fact he was able to drive his legendary car on a legendary superspeedway.
Marty’s Superbird is equipped with a numbers-matching 440 6-Pack engine, so it was in its element at Talladega in terms of speed requirements to stay on the track’s steep banks.
Marty has made many friends via his Superbird, including former NASCAR driver Dave Marcis who was an early wing car racer with his Daytona car.
MyStarCollectorCar will give Marty the understatement-of-the-year award with his closing comment: “I like it”.
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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