NASCAR’s “King” reportedly ever owned one street-legal ’70 Superbird, and it’s set to cross the block mid-January
- The only production 1970 Plymouth Superbird owned by Richard Petty will be auctioned mid-January
- The NASCAR great owned the 440 V8 automatic car from 1982 through 2013
- Mecum Auctions estimates the final sale price could land between US$900,000 and US$1 million
More important than those spec, though, is its pedigree as, reportedly, the only production example of a Superbird ever owned by Petty, who’s renowned for having nabbed seven NASCAR championships as well as seven Daytona 500 wins. The ‘Bird nested in his coop from 1982 through 2013, says the Mecum Auction write-up on the car, and was subjected to a US$27,000 engine-out freshening up by Petty’s Garage in North Carolina – a respray in Plymouth’s Alpine White, plus a new vinyl top – before it found itself in the garage of its next owner.
You may have already noticed the handful of custom touches added by Petty during his tenure with this car: the factory Plymouth decal on the rear flanks sees a smaller-script “From Petty” pasted lower on the quarters; and the interior has been upgraded with black leather seats with white piping, and Petty’s face on the headrests. You’ll find his signature on the rear edge of the trunk lid beneath the clearcoat, as well as on the glove-box door, next to a message for succeeding owners: “take care of my car!”
Not to worry, Richard. We’ve found, as a general rule of thumb, people who drop seven figures on rare classic cars – recall, only 1,935 Plymouth Superbirds were ever built – do tend to keep up on maintenance and refrain from abuse. And we say because, yes, seven figures is an entirely reasonable estimate when it comes to this car’s sale.
Values have dropped slightly over the past year, but a 440 V8 car in near-mint condition like this one is still worth between US$180,000 and US$250,000 (CDN$260,000 and CDN$360,000), per car insurer Hagerty. Then you have to factor in that this may very well be one of the most important production Superbirds in existence.
The auction will be conducted by Mecum in Kissimmee, Florida on January 18, 2025. We’ll update this piece with the high bid after it happens.
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