2013 Plymouth Superbird Gateway

Plymouth hasn’t built a car since 2001, so how does a 2013 Plymouth Superbird exist? Underneath the nose cone and wing is a modern Dodge Challenger, transformed by a specialty conversion kit into a tribute of one of NASCAR’s most famous aero cars. Watch to see how the illusion holds up.

Plymouth stopped making cars in 2001, which raises an obvious question the moment you see a 2013 model year Superbird on a dealer lot: how does that exist? The badge on the trunk lid says Plymouth. The build plate underneath says something entirely different. This car started life as a completely ordinary 2013 Dodge Challenger before a specialty parts company got involved, and what came out the other side is either a clever tribute or a small act of automotive fiction, depending on how strictly you define the word “real.” Either way, it’s rare enough that most muscle car fans have never seen one in person.

The Impossible Badge

A genuine Plymouth Superbird only ever existed for one model year, 1970, built in just enough numbers to satisfy NASCAR homologation rules for its aerodynamic nose cone and towering rear wing. Plymouth as a brand was discontinued by Chrysler in 2001, more than a decade before this car rolled off a showroom floor. So when Gateway Classic Cars lists a “2013 Plymouth Superbird” for sale, the badge is describing an idea rather than a factory build sheet — and the dealership’s own listing leads with exactly the question a buyer would ask: how can a 2013 Superbird exist at all?

⚑ Featured Gear

Start Car Conversations →

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

What’s Actually Underneath the Bodywork

Strip away the badges and body kit, and this car is a 2013 Dodge Challenger, one of the last model years before the Challenger’s mid-cycle refresh. That means it retains all the creature comforts of a modern Challenger — leather seating, power windows and locks, keyless entry and push-button start, a touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth, and a Tiptronic automatic transmission — none of which existed in any form on an actual 1970 Superbird.

The V6 Question

The detail that surprises most people is the engine: this tribute car runs Chrysler’s 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, rated at 305 horsepower, rather than the big-block V8 a Superbird badge might lead someone to expect. It’s a genuinely competent output for a six-cylinder — more than several V8s of the muscle car era actually produced — but it’s a very different powertrain philosophy than the 426 Hemi or 440 Six Barrel engines that powered the original Superbirds down NASCAR superspeedways.

Why HPP Built a Kit for This

HPP, a specialty parts manufacturer, built the conversion components that transform a stock Challenger into this Superbird tribute: a front-end conversion piece replicating the nose cone, a three-piece rear wing assembly, and side vents finishing out the aerodynamic look. Companies like HPP exist because demand for the shapes and silhouettes of discontinued muscle cars never fully went away, even after the platforms and brands underpinning them disappeared.

Part of a Bigger Continuation-Car Trend

This tribute Superbird isn’t an isolated novelty — it belongs to a broader continuation and tribute-car trend that’s grown steadily as original muscle cars have become more expensive and harder to find in unmolested condition. Companies producing Yenko Camaro tributes, modern Trans Am conversion packages for the Camaro, and reproduction Hemi ‘Cuda badging kits all operate on the same logic: build the look and spirit of a legendary discontinued car onto a modern, reliable platform that’s actually attainable for buyers who could never afford or locate a genuine original.

What a Buyer Is Actually Paying For

Gateway Classic Cars operates as a large multi-location consignment dealer, with showrooms spread across the country handling everything from unrestored project cars to fully custom tribute builds like this one, and its Orlando listing openly acknowledges the unusual nature of what it’s selling rather than trying to pass the car off as a genuine factory Superbird. A buyer here isn’t paying for a numbers-matching Chrysler collectible; they’re paying for a modern, comfortable, warranty-eligible daily driver dressed in one of the most recognizable aerodynamic shapes in NASCAR history, at a fraction of what an original 1970 Superbird now commands at auction.

How the Conversion Actually Bolts On

HPP’s conversion is designed specifically as a bolt-on kit rather than a fabrication project requiring custom metalwork, which is part of why shops are willing to perform it on customer cars in the first place. The front fascia piece mounts using the Challenger’s existing body mounting points, the multi-piece rear wing bolts to the trunk lid with minimal drilling, and the side vents typically attach with adhesive and factory-style clips — meaning the entire transformation can be reversed later without permanently altering the donor Challenger’s original sheet metal underneath.

How This Compares to an Original 1970 Superbird’s Price

Genuine 1970 Plymouth Superbirds, of which fewer than 2,000 were built for NASCAR homologation, now regularly sell at major collector auctions for six figures and climbing, with pristine Hemi-powered examples reaching well beyond that. A tribute car built on a modern Challenger platform costs a small fraction of that figure while delivering the visual silhouette most buyers actually want to display, which is precisely the value proposition dealers like Gateway are selling alongside the car itself. It also comes with modern reliability and daily-drivability that a 50-year-old NASCAR homologation special simply can’t match, a tradeoff plenty of buyers are happy to make.

Homage or Fabrication?

Whether a car like this counts as an homage or something closer to fabrication is a debate that comes up constantly around tribute and continuation builds, and reasonable people land on both sides. Every Plymouth badge, Superbird decal, and factory-style emblem on this car was installed after the fact to complete the illusion, which some enthusiasts view as harmless fun and others view as muddying a car’s actual identity for future buyers down the line.

Why This Car Still Draws a Crowd

Whatever side of that debate a viewer falls on, the car draws attention wherever it goes specifically because it looks like something that shouldn’t exist. A modern Challenger wearing a nose cone and wing from a nameplate that’s been dead for over two decades is a novelty even seasoned muscle car spotters don’t encounter often, and that rarity alone is enough to make this Orlando showroom listing worth a second look.

Watch the full video and drop your thoughts in the comments below.

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Republished by Blog Post Promoter