1969 Plymouth Road Runner

By the late '60s, the original formula for cheap speed was buried under heavy air conditioning compressors, thick sound deadening, and massive chrome trim. Plymouth realized genuine street racers were being priced out and weighed down by luxury they never asked for.

The solution was the 1969 Road Runner. It was a bare bones street brawler that actively rejected comfort. Plymouth took their basic Belvedere taxi cab platform and aggressively gutted the options list. Instead of plush carpets, buyers got rubber floor mats. Fancy center consoles and power windows were completely ignored.

Every ounce of fat was trimmed to make room for pure horsepower. The absolute peak of this strict diet was the A12 package. Packing a massive 440 Six Barrel engine, it took weight savings to the extreme by ditching the heavy steel hood entirely, replacing it with a pin fastened matte black fiberglass piece.