Car of the Week: Racing Legend Richard Petty’s Plymouth Superbird Could Fetch $1 Million at Auction
For the buyer of Richard Petty 's 1970 Plymouth Superbird, there's a message from "the King" himself. Scribbled in silver marker on the car's dashboard, right next to his famous signature, is the mandate "Take Care of My Car!" It was actually inscribed for the vehicle's current owner, Maryland businessman Larry Cate, who bought the highly distinctive muscle car from Petty back in 2013 and commissioned the NASCAR legend's own North Carolina–based Petty's Garage to do a restoration.
"When I went to pick it up, that's what he told me . . . he wrote it on the dash just to remind me. In the 10 years I've had the privilege of owning it, I've definitely tried to follow his instruction," Cate tells Robb Report .
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This 1970 Plymouth Superbird, once owned by Richard Petty, will be offered through Mecum Auctions on January 18.
The seven-time NASCAR champion and Daytona 500 winner owned the iconic Plymouth from 1982 to 2013, usually displaying it alongside his Petty-blue, No.43 NASCAR Superbird race car at his museum in Level Cross, N.C. The car has the distinction of being the only road-going Superbird that Petty has ever owned.
Famous for its outrageous wing and whimsical horn—the latter mimicking the Road Runner cartoon character's signature "meep, meep"—Plymouth's Superbird was built for just 90 days in late 1969. The production comprised a run of 1,935 examples, which were necessary to meet homologation requirements for the race-car version to be eligible to compete in the NASCAR Grand National series.
While the car's black-vinyl interior was removed and cleaned, it remains original, save for the pair of Richard Petty logos embroidered in the front seats.
Developed from Plymouth's Road Runner coupe, the Superbird is distinguished by that elongated nose cone—with hidden quad headlamps—and that towering rear wing, set high to run through clear air on the track. Other distinguishing features include functional, race-style hood pins, a restyled rear window, rear-facing front-fender air extractors, and polished-edge Rallye wheels. While these road-going Superbirds were offered with a choice of three engines, Petty's 375 hp car features a mid-range 440 Super Commando V-8—with a single four-barrel Carter carburetor—mated to a three-speed Torqueflite automatic transmission.
Interestingly, despite the Superbird's racing pedigree, the car found little demand when the model was released, due to its over-the-top aesthetic. Some examples were even converted back to Road Runner spec by dealers looking to offload them.
The 375 hp, 440 Super Commando V-8 engine is mated to a three-speed automatic transmission.
Petty, and his crew at Petty's Garage, spent the winter of 2013 taking his old Superbird back to bare metal and giving it a new coat of Alpine White paint and a new black roof made of vinyl. The engine and transmission were removed to detail the engine bay, and restored to like-new condition. Among the paperwork that comes with the car is Petty's original work estimate for $26,900.
"The car was in really nice condition when I bought it, with not a spot of rust. But it had obviously spent much of its life sitting in a museum and needed a refresh," says Cate. "I have photos of Richard in the workshop working on the car."
While the black-vinyl interior was removed and cleaned, it remains original, save for the pair of Richard Petty logos embroidered in the front seats. During its decade under Cate's stewardship, the car has appeared in multiple TV shows, including MotorWeek, My Classic Car, Car Crazy, Country Music TV, and MTV Cribs .
Petty owned this iconic muscle car from 1982 to 2013.
"I'm involved in a local Maryland charity car show that helps raise money for the Petty Family Foundation. And every year for 10 years, Richard would fly-in in his jet to attend, and I would pick him up in his old Superbird," says Cate. "One year, in all the excitement of having Richard Petty in the passenger seat, I gave the car just a little too much gas off the line and spun the tires. The motorcycle cop escorting us wasn't too impressed, but Richard just grinned and said, 'I do that all the time'."
Cate tells us that he feels ready to let someone else enjoy the car. He's hoping it will go to a museum or prominent collection where the public can see it and hear about Richard Petty and his racing legacy. On January 18, this Superbird will cross the auction block at Mecum's 4,500-vehicle Kissimmee sale in Florida, where it's estimated to fetch as much as $1 million.
Click here for more photos of this 1970 Plymouth Superbird once owned by Richard Petty.
Formerly owned by Richard Petty, this 1970 Plymouth Superbird will be offered through Mecum Auctions on January 18.
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