EPA Plymouth Superbird ..

[OzJavelin]

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2...ed-to-auction/

It's old news, but I found it while browsing on the Hemmings Blog yesterday ..

It’s been called a turncoat, along with “the car that killed the muscle car,” and the car that “shook the automotive world.” Not many cars get saddled with so much baggage, but that is perhaps inevitable for one Plymouth Superbird recruited by the Environmental Protection Agency for emissions testing in the early 1970s.
..
When the EPA set its sights on automotive emissions, Moran – familiar with the aerodynamic properties of the Plymouth Superbird – decided to use one of those as a mobile emissions sampler rather than spend six figures on a stationary wind tunnel.
..
With a secondary purpose of testing jet engine emissions behind aircraft while they were taking off, Moran also had Nichels fit the Superbird with a rollbar, NASCAR-type fuel cell, air shocks – to adjust the suspension to keep the car stable in the jet engines’ wake – and a radio to communicate with the airliners.
..
According to some sources, the sample results obtained by EPA officials at the wheel of the Superbird led directly to the removal of asbestos from brake linings as well as the introduction of unleaded fuel

So .. when is the EPA in Australia going to grab an SC GT for chasing jets down the runway? ;)

[aussie muscle]

by the end of the superbird's run, dealers were practically giving them away, so they probably got them quite cheap. ironic they are now the most expensive plymouths in the world.

[spebgtsprint]

That is exactly what I am gonna buy when I win Lotto. That is pure car porn!

[Moby Vic]

I love the original Motor Trend article title when they covered the Superbird. They called it "The Thing of Shapes to Come."

[EgoFG]

My all time favourite car !!

[Kingsley]

Nice car but I'd prefer a Daytona!!!!!

[CAMS290]

They changed the Nascar rules because of these things 200+MPH
http://www.allpar.com/racing/dodge-nascar.html
http://www.allpar.com/racing/dodge-nascar2.html
http://www.allpar.com/racing/dodge-nascar3.html

[Nikked]

Imagine if Ford went ahead with the Torino King Cobra/Mercury Cyclone Spoiler NASCAR project....

[CAMS290]

Originally Posted by Nikked

Imagine if Ford went ahead with the Torino King Cobra/Mercury Cyclone Spoiler NASCAR project....

I like this piece from one of the test drivers when they were developing the car

Charlie Glotzbach recorded the highest trap speed during those tests, just shortly before the program came to a halt at the Chelsea facility. It was a marvel of top shelf engineering. Like "no sweat" reported Glotzbach, who by the way had earned himself the NASCAR moniker of "Chargin' Charlie." At a real terminal measured speed, beyond a doubt Glotzbach had reached 243 miles an hour! Keep in mind that this was a "stock" car with a NASCAR spec Hemi V-8 that had no modifications to ensure eligibility to race.

Phase three race cars were good for about 155MPH, these things were 90MPH faster !