Today, supercar manufacturers proudly tout speeds of 300 km/h, active aerodynamics, and hundreds of hours in the wind tunnel. Meanwhile, somewhere in America, the 1970 Plymouth Superbird quietly smiles—a machine with a nose stretching nearly as far as the next state and a wing the size of a kitchen table. This specific example was driven to 354 km/h in 1975, and now the legendary muscle car will be featured in the January Mecum auction.

The key thing is that the Superbird is not just a toy or a museum-piece vehicle you shouldn’t touch. It was built for the famous NASCAR races in America. This is why it has that wild, elongated nose, hidden headlights, and a massive rear wing. Versions equipped with the legendary 7-liter V8 engine producing 425 horsepower are especially rare—only 135 were ever made. The future auction lot belongs to this specific group.

In 1971, Jim and Larry Lindley, a father and son, purchased a car. Rather than making a logical decision and putting a rare Plymouth in the garage, they headed to the Bonneville Salt Flats to find out how fast it could actually go. In one of the first runs, the Superbird achieved a speed of 331.5 mph. But American logic in such situations is straightforward: if a car is going 331 mph, one must determine why it isn’t going 350. The Lindleys continued to refine the Plymouth and set class records for several years. Finally, in 1975, the Superbird reached 354 mph.

There is no official valuation yet. However, this same machine was recently attempted for sale at around one million dollars, so a seven-figure result will not particularly surprise anyone. For comparison, the rarest Superbird models previously sold for significantly more—the record price for the model reached $1.65 million. The main thing is that the future owner doesn’t decide to test the old record again. Because a million dollars at 354 km/h turns into a very expensive way to find out how far the nearest body shop is from Bonneville.