1968 Plymouth Road Runner
Paying $50,000 to Warner Brothers to use the name and cartoon likeness of their Road Runner cartoon character (as well as a "beep-beep" horn), and using the Chrysler B platform as a base (the same base as the Belvedere, Satellite and GTX), Plymouth set out to build a back-to-basics muscle car. Everything essential to performance and handling was beefed-up and improved; everything nonessential was left out. The interior was spartan, lacking even carpets, and few options were available. The standard engine was a 383 CID(6.3 L) Roadrunner V8 rated at 335 bhp and 425 ft·lb of torque. For an extra US $714, Plymouth would install a 426 CID Hemi rated at 425 bhp and 490 ft·lb of torque. Combined with low weight, the 6-passenger Road Runner could run the 1/4 mile in 13.4 sec @ 105 mph. It would prove to be one of the best engines of the muscle car era and the Road Runner - one of the best platforms to utilize it. Plymouth expected to sell about 2,000 units in 1968; actual sales numbered around 45,000. (It should also be noted that Dodge debuted the Road Runner's cousin, the Super Bee, that same year.)

Production:
2D Pillared Coupe: 29,240
2D Hardtop Coupe: 15,359
Engines:
383 V8 335 bhp @ 5200 rpm, 425 lb-ft @ 3400 rpm.
426 Hemi V8 425 bhp @ 5000 rpm, 490 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm.
Performance:
383/335: 0-60 in 7.1 sec, 1/4 mile in 15.0 sec @ 96mph.
426/425: 0-60 in 5.3 sec, 1/4 mile in 13.55 sec @ 105mph.
|