Bring a Trailer
- This stick-shift 440-cubic-inch Superbird was owned by none other than racer/journalist Sam Posey’s mother.
- It has low mileage and a great back story.
- How many moms do you know who drove a pistol-grip four-speed Mopar and bought their kid a Gullwing?
Sam Posey’s career is hugely impressive: racing in Trans Am, Formula 1, Le Mans, and NASCAR. He is also a highly respected writer and designer and has even won an Emmy. Such a talent does not simply spring from the ground fully formed; it must be nurtured. Posey’s father died at the Battle of Okinawa, but happily for Sam, he had one heck of a mom. Bring a Trailer This 1970 Plymouth Superbird, up for sale on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos), just might be the coolest mom-mobile ever. It has a 440-cubic-inch V-8 and a four-speed manual transmission with a Hurst pistol-grip shifter. It’s unapologetically orange, and Mary J.P. Moore, Sam Posey’s mother, bought it off a used-car lot in 1971 and kept it right until she died in 2010.Bring a Trailer The Plymouth Superbird was a one-year-only modified version of the Road Runner, fitted with a nose cone and an absolutely colossal rear wing. The idea is that the former would help this big Mopar cut through the air more cleanly, while the big wing would add downforce. Pick up a couple of extra miles per hour at an oval track, and it’d dominate NASCAR.The ‘Bird worked as promised on the track, but it was a bit of a turkey when it landed in showrooms. Posey’s mother supposedly paid $4000 for it as a one-year-old used car, which seems like a pretty good bargain. But then, she had a nose for these things, buying the then-14-year-old Sam a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing for just $2500 in 1958.Bring a Trailer Posey used to drift that 300SL around farmyard fields, and eventually that love of speed led him to a long career in racing. It sure seems like the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree, as Moore was also something of a fan of speed.Besides the ultra-cool provenance, this example is very desirable for its condition and low mileage. It’s finished in Vitamin C orange with black vinyl interior and wears 15-inch Rallye wheels. It was refreshed by the current seller after Moore’s long ownership, including refinishing the nose cone, replacing the carpets, and various other refurbishments.Bring a Trailer The 440 V-8 is equipped with a four-barrel carburetor and was rated at 375 horsepower and 480 pound-feet of torque. With the four-speed manual, it’ll cheerfully murder those rear tires all day long, with a “Meep-meep!” blast from its Looney Tunes–themed horn.
Superbirds might not have been a hit when new, but they’re highly collectible now, and few are going to come with such a cool back story. Mother to three, grandmother to six, married twice, Mary Moore drove a Superbird, and taught her son to fly.
The auction ends on September 4.Related Story
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Brendan McAleerContributing EditorBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.
Source: caranddriver.com
