1967 was the year the Plymouth Satellite got quietly outranked by its own family. The new Belvedere GTX arrived that year with a 440 wedgehead V8 and, for the first time, a genuine Hemi option. The Satellite carried on as Plymouth’s value performance pick, powered by a 383 available with either a two-barrel or four-barrel carburetor. Here’s how the B-body pecking order shifted in a single model year.
The Satellite is on the Chrysler “B”platform and is the premium trim level for the Belvedere for the first two years of production. In ’67 it is the mid-priced offering, with the new GTX version taking top spot. More changes for ’67 include a new grill and a revised rear clip with new look taillights, but the Satellite is only available as a 2-door hard top or the convertible. The 383 is the standard engine and it would be mounted with a 2-barrel carburetor or a 4-barrel is also on the option sheet.
MCF would like to thank Gateway Classic Cars for the images reproduced here
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
For two years, the Satellite was as good as it got if you wanted the sportiest Plymouth money could buy — then 1967 happened, and it got bumped down a rung on its own family tree. A new performance flagship arrived that year wearing a 440-cubic-inch wedgehead V8 and, for the first time, a genuine Hemi option, instantly making the Satellite look like the sensible choice by comparison. It didn’t disappear or get diminished under the hood, though; if anything, this was still a car with real engine options while the lineup reshuffled around it. What exactly changed for the car that used to be Plymouth’s top dog?
Dethroned by Its Own Sibling
The new arrival was the Belvedere GTX, and it landed above the Satellite in Chrysler’s B-body hierarchy with a silver-and-black grille and rear deck panel, simulated hood air intakes, sport striping, and big dual exhausts to match the attitude. For the first time, the Hemi option became available on that GTX, alongside a 440-cid wedgehead “Super Commando” V8 rated at 375 horsepower. The Satellite carried on as a two-door hardtop or convertible, still V8-only across the board, but no longer the flashiest thing wearing a Plymouth badge.
What You Could Still Order
Across the Belvedere/Satellite/GTX family, Chrysler’s 1967 B-body engine sheet ran from a 273-cubic-inch V8 making as little as 180 horsepower all the way to the 426 Hemi and 440 Super Commando reserved for the range-topping GTX. The Satellite itself carried on as the volume performance choice, with its 383 doing the heavy lifting — a two-barrel version for buyers who wanted looks more than launches, and an optional four-barrel for those who didn’t. It was a formula that worked precisely because it undercut the GTX on price without asking much in everyday drivability, which is exactly why so many surviving Satellites, like the hardtop and convertible pictured here, still turn up in good original condition today.
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Republished by Blog Post Promoter
