Photo: hayden_design / Instagram
One of the original 'Mopar Aero Warriors' alongside its sibling, the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, the 1970 Plymouth Superbird appeared at the height of the American muscle car era and was too good for its own sake. That's probably why NASCAR banned them: that, and the max speeds of almost 200 mph (321 kph), of course.
Much has been said about this muscle car icon – which was an extreme modification of the Plymouth Road Runner with Looney Tunes graphics and the legendary 'beep, beep' horn sound. Both the Superbird and Charger Daytona had a couple of distinctive features – the massive nose cones and the excessively high-mounted rear wings, and for sure, they would have made the animated character pretty darn proud of their prowess in NASCAR racing. However, they were both utterly short-lived because regulations were soon changed, making them impossible to use on the tracks.
No worries, their story will probably live on forever with automotive enthusiasts in general and Mopar fans in particular, from now until the end of time. Or, at least until 2045, if we are to believe the imaginative realm of digital car content creators. Moving off-universe from the real world, Hayden Ahn, a virtual automotive guru (aka hayden_design on social media) with experience at ArtCenter College of Design's Transportation Design Department and Renault, has recently imagined the return of the American NASCAR icon for the EV lifestyle.
Reborn for the 2045 model year, his Plymouth 'Road Runner Superbird' project is not only sustainable but also fully ready to transform from a street-savvy Road Runner reinvention into full Superbird track mode – presumably at the touch of a button and following a quick visit to some hypothetical tech labs. This is because the Road Runner and Superbird are not two distinct vehicles anymore. Instead, when used as a daily EV muscle car, the 2045 Plymouth Road Runner would have a shorter front overhang optimized for urban drives, a lighter body, and a recessed rear wing plus less EV range "under the premise of urban usage."
Once at the track, though, the 2045 Plymouth Superbird style takes over, and in track mode, the vehicle deploys its powered rear wings as high as possible, extends the front and rear overhangs for improved aerodynamics, and also gains an extra battery pack for additional power and maybe even some extra range. Well, it sounds rather smart, right? Unfortunately, since this is merely wishful thinking, the pixel master said nothing about the potential powertrain.
No worries, that is where we come in and remind everyone that Stellantis does not even need to wait until 2045 to reintroduce the Plymouth brand and resurrect the Road Runner and Superbird nameplates. After all, Dodge's production version of the Charger Daytona SRT concept will soon have access to the Banshee EV lifestyle, and the flagship 800-volt version packs no less than 900 kW (1,320 hp) with the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust system.
No worries, their story will probably live on forever with automotive enthusiasts in general and Mopar fans in particular, from now until the end of time. Or, at least until 2045, if we are to believe the imaginative realm of digital car content creators. Moving off-universe from the real world, Hayden Ahn, a virtual automotive guru (aka hayden_design on social media) with experience at ArtCenter College of Design's Transportation Design Department and Renault, has recently imagined the return of the American NASCAR icon for the EV lifestyle.
Reborn for the 2045 model year, his Plymouth 'Road Runner Superbird' project is not only sustainable but also fully ready to transform from a street-savvy Road Runner reinvention into full Superbird track mode – presumably at the touch of a button and following a quick visit to some hypothetical tech labs. This is because the Road Runner and Superbird are not two distinct vehicles anymore. Instead, when used as a daily EV muscle car, the 2045 Plymouth Road Runner would have a shorter front overhang optimized for urban drives, a lighter body, and a recessed rear wing plus less EV range "under the premise of urban usage."
Once at the track, though, the 2045 Plymouth Superbird style takes over, and in track mode, the vehicle deploys its powered rear wings as high as possible, extends the front and rear overhangs for improved aerodynamics, and also gains an extra battery pack for additional power and maybe even some extra range. Well, it sounds rather smart, right? Unfortunately, since this is merely wishful thinking, the pixel master said nothing about the potential powertrain.
No worries, that is where we come in and remind everyone that Stellantis does not even need to wait until 2045 to reintroduce the Plymouth brand and resurrect the Road Runner and Superbird nameplates. After all, Dodge's production version of the Charger Daytona SRT concept will soon have access to the Banshee EV lifestyle, and the flagship 800-volt version packs no less than 900 kW (1,320 hp) with the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust system.
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