3). 1969 Plymouth Road Runner, 440 cubic Six BBL 390 HP
Chrysler Motor Group was one the last car manufacturers who come out with a muscle car, with the introduction of the high performance vehicle with relatively low price, 1968 Plymouth Road Runner. They’ve had a pretty simple concept – a production of a light weighted car that will not be expensive but affordable to many and with a strong and powerful machine under the hood. They have used cartoon character as a sign of recognition for a very fast muscle car, with an attractive body lines and easy to remember by the masses. It was equipped with a simple bench seats and rubber floor mats. Due to its low price of around $ 3 000 (convertibles were a bit more expensive, $ 3 790), in 1969 it was sold in 217 216 units (and only 2 128 convertibles). Motor Trend Magazine named the Road Runner for The Car of the Year for the year of 1969. Originally constructed to be the fastest car that ever came out of the Chrysler’s production line, Road Runners had pretty much regular performance features that included a removable fiberglass hood.
Under the hood of the Road Runner there was 440 6 BBL engine (440 cubic), with a triple 2 barrel Holly carburetors -- which was an addition to help qualify for the Super Stock Drag races – that generated 390 horsepower. This engine was seen as a perfect option because it was cheaper from the 426 HEMI and yet it still delivered pretty much the same performances.
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The list is a bit one-sided. 6 GM products, 3 Chrysler’s, and 1 Ford. The 6 GM are 3 Corvettes; 2 Chevy’s; and 1 Buick. The 3 Chrysler’s are all Plymouths. And the lonely Ford wasn’t a viable option to the public at the time unless you had the cash for it. Same thing for the Corvettes; those were not easy to obtain for the everyman. The Plymouths were a readily accessible as was the Camaro, Chevelle, and Buick.
My list:
10. 1966 Pontiac GTO 389 Tri-Power
Production: Sports Coupe: 10,363 Hardtop Coupe: 73,785 Convertible: 12,798
Engines: 389 V8 335 bhp @ 5000 rpm, 431 lb-ft @ 3200 rpm. 389 V8 360 bhp @ 5200 rpm, 424 lb-ft @ 3600rpm. 389 V8 Ram Air 360 bhp @ 5200 rpm, 424 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm
Performance: 389/360: 0-60 in 6.5 sec, 1/4 mile in 14.65 sec @ 98mph.
09. 1967 Mustang Fastback
Production:
2D Hardtop: 356,271
Fastback: 71,042
Convertible: 44,808
Engines:
390 V8 320 bhp.
(Shelby GT500) 428 V8 355bhp@5400rpm, 420lb-ft@3200rpm.
Performance
(Shelby GT500) 428/355: 0-60 in 6.2 sec, 1/4 mile in 14.6 sec @ 99mph.
08. 1969 AMC Hurst
Production: 1,512
Engines: 390 V8 315 bhp @ 4600 rpm, 425 lb-ft @ 3200 rpm.
Performance: 390/315: 0-60 in 6.3 seconds, 1/4 mile in 14.3 seconds @ 99 mph.
07. 1968 Dodge Charger
Production: 17,665
Engines: 318 V8 230bhp. 383 V8 335bhp. 426 V8 Hemi 425bhp@5000rpm, 490lb-ft@4000rpm. 440 V8 375bhp@4600rpm, 480lb-ft@3200rpm.
Performance: 426 Hemi V8 425: 0-60 in 5.3 sec, 1/4 mile in 13.8 sec @ 105mph.
06. 1970 Olds 442
Performance:
(W-30) 455/370: 0-60 in 5.7 sec, 1/4 mile in 14.2 sec @ 100mph.
05. 1969 Firebird
400 V8 (Ram Air IV) 345 bhp @ 5400 rpm, 430 lb-ft @ 3700 rpm.
Performance:
400/335 (RA IV): 0-60 in 6.3 sec, 1/4 mile in 14.1 sec @ 101 mph.
04. 69 Mercury Cougar
428 V8 335 bhp @ 5200 rpm, 440 lb-ft @ 3400 rpm.
Performance:
428/335: 0-60 in 5.6 seconds, 1/4 mile in 14.1 seconds @ 103 mph.
03. 1970 Cuda
440+6 V8 390 bhp @ 4600 rpm, 480 lb-ft @ 2300 rpm.
Performance:
Hemi – 426/425: 0-60 in 5.6 seconds, 1/4 mile in 13.41 sec. @ 104.6 mph.
02. 70 Challenger
Performance:
T/A: 0-60 in 5.9 seconds, 1/4 mile in 14.5 seconds @ 99.6 mph.
R/T 440-6: 0-60 in 6.2 seconds, 1/4 mile in 13.7 seconds @ 105 mph.
01. 1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2
Production: 11,519
Engines: 421 V8 338 bhp @ 4600 rpm, 459 ft-lb @ 2800 rpm. 421 V8 356 bhp @ 4800 rpm, 459 ft-lb @ 3200 rpm. 421 V8 376 bhp @ 5000 rpm, 461 ft-lb @ 3600 rpm.
Performance: 421/376: 0-60 in 3.9 sec 1/4 mile in 13.8 @ 106 mph
There we are.
GM: 4
Ford: 2
Chrysler: 3
AMC: 1
Not a bad list.