This week’s feature muscle car has a lot in common with the car from last week, the 1970 Coronet R/T. First, it’s a MOPAR. Second, the looks of this car have been called into question by more than one muscle car enthusiast, myself included. Despite that, it is a muscle car just the same. Have a gander at the 1971 Plymouth Road Runner.

I should say that the Road Runner is one of my top 3 favorite muscle cars of all time. The reasons for its production sit so well for me it is ridiculous (read about them in my original post on the first-gen Runner). Those first two years of Road Runner production are like music to my power-loving ears. So why then did Plymouth change the styling that worked so well for them in the past? I am not a design expert, but I can surmise that Plymouth was following emerging trends that had bubbled up around 1970. A look at the re-designed Chrysler E-body lends credence to this assumption. The Challenger and Cuda both featured a wide and narrow front grill with small head lights and a short rear deck with a flush-mounted bumper. Perhaps Plymouth hoped that the Road Runner might ride on the coat tails of the new E-body. Sadly, this could never be the case as muscle cars were quickly being bled out.

The year 1971 marked the beginning of what would become rampant de-tuning of big block V8 engines. The base model 383 cubic inch V8 lost 35 horsepower over previous years and fell to 300. The 440 Commando V8 was nicked 5 ponies and power fell to 370. The 390 horsepower 6-barrel option on the 440 also lost 5 horses and was now rated at 385 horsepower. The monstrous Hemi remained strong at 425 (underrated) horsepower, but this would be the last year the great engine would be offered in any MOPAR vehicle.

Perhaps it is the awkward styling or the fact that this was the last year for any real power in a Plymouth but for some reason I have a special place in my heart for the last truly powerful Road Runner.