Classic Car of the Week: Plymouth Road Runner (1968)

My pick of the week is the 1968 Plymouth Road Runner.

src: carlustblog.com

'Beep, Beep!' as a well known speedster would say, and boy did Plymouth pay through the nose for the rights to imitate him, something to the tune of $50,000 dollars to use the name, image and his trademark 'Beep' which, naturally, was used as the horn sound. The Road Runner was first produced in 1968 as part of Plymouth's mid-size range, with the Road Runner taking up position as the performance model.

More after the jump...


The Road Runner was the essential performance car, everything was tailored to tick the boxes of performance and handling including a 335HP engine as standard, exclusive to the Road Runner model. However little consideration was given to the extras. The interior was sparse with vinyl bench seat and no carpets until later in the year of its release. Only a few optional extras were offered to the consumer such as a radio, air conditioning and an electric clock. Despite this, however, the Road Runner sold much better than expected, shifting around 45000 units in its debut year.

The Plymouth Roadrunner was initially available as a 2-door Coupe and as a 2-door Hardtop at an average price of $2695 and came in in 22 colours.

Vital Statistics

Wheelbase	2.9m
Length	5.1m
Width	1.9m
Height	1.4m
Engine	383 cu in (6.3L) 250 kW V8 426 cu in (7.0L) Hemi V8 440 cu in (7.2L) V8
Gross HP	335-425 HP (model depending)
Transmission	3-speed automatic 4-speed manual