Man Buys 1974 Road Runner GTX Parked for Decades, Finds Out It's a Rare Promo Car
In 1965, Plymouth redesigned the bread-and-butter Belvedere and expanded its midsize lineup to include the Satellite, a more premium and performance-oriented car. By 1968, the company had introduced two more intermediates. The GTX arrived in 1967 as a range-topping muscle car, while the Road Runner hit showrooms as the entry-level performance model in 1968.
The expensive GTX wasn't particularly popular with muscle car enthusiasts but remained in production through 1971. It was discontinued when Chrysler retired its high-compression V8 engines. On the other hand, the more affordable and popular Road Runner lived on until 1975 as a proper B-body intermediate and an additional five years as a trim package on the compact Volare.
But did you know that the "Road Runner" and "GTX" badges were offered on the same car for three years? When Plymouth discontinued the GTX in 1971, the nameplate didn't disappear altogether. The badge returned in 1972 on Road Runners equipped with the optional 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) V8. The affair continued until 1974.
These cars are among the rarest Mopars of the era. While Road Runner production dropped to a historically low 6,860 units in 1972, fewer than 10% of customers selected the GTX trim—only 672 examples. Road Runner production saw a dramatic increase to 15,929 units the following year, but GTX sales remained steady at just 749 cars.
Finally, in 1974, only 386 customers took a Road Runner GTX home (out of 9,636 vehicles produced). It's by far the rarest GTX ever made, and the B5 Blue example you see here is one of those rigs.
Uncovered by classic car prospector Dennis Collins, this Road Runner GTX looks like it sat for decades. Dennis found it parked in a hangar, where it has been sitting since it changed owners for the first time. Likely not driven since the 1980s, the GTX emerged with some rust issues, weathered paint, and notable wear and tear inside the cabin.
Upon lifting the hood, he discovered a partially dismantled 440 V8, but the second owner confirmed he had most of the missing components, including the carburetor and the air cleaner. The numbers-matching drivetrain and the original paint and interior prompted Mr. Collins to purchase the car.
Making the deal that much better, he learned that the B5 Blue coupe is actually notably rarer than the average 1974 Road Runner GTX. As per the second owner, this Mopar is one of only 25 promo cars built that year. They were all finished in blue with matching interiors and equipped with identical options before being sent to dealers.
I covered one of these cars in April 2023 when a derelict and incomplete example was found in a junkyard. It's unclear how many of these promo cars are still in one piece, but it seems only a handful have been documented so far.
Hopefully, this one will get the restoration it deserves—or at least a revival as an unrestored survivor with a running powertrain. Until that happens, check it out in the video below.
The expensive GTX wasn't particularly popular with muscle car enthusiasts but remained in production through 1971. It was discontinued when Chrysler retired its high-compression V8 engines. On the other hand, the more affordable and popular Road Runner lived on until 1975 as a proper B-body intermediate and an additional five years as a trim package on the compact Volare.
But did you know that the "Road Runner" and "GTX" badges were offered on the same car for three years? When Plymouth discontinued the GTX in 1971, the nameplate didn't disappear altogether. The badge returned in 1972 on Road Runners equipped with the optional 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) V8. The affair continued until 1974.
These cars are among the rarest Mopars of the era. While Road Runner production dropped to a historically low 6,860 units in 1972, fewer than 10% of customers selected the GTX trim—only 672 examples. Road Runner production saw a dramatic increase to 15,929 units the following year, but GTX sales remained steady at just 749 cars.
Finally, in 1974, only 386 customers took a Road Runner GTX home (out of 9,636 vehicles produced). It's by far the rarest GTX ever made, and the B5 Blue example you see here is one of those rigs.
Uncovered by classic car prospector Dennis Collins, this Road Runner GTX looks like it sat for decades. Dennis found it parked in a hangar, where it has been sitting since it changed owners for the first time. Likely not driven since the 1980s, the GTX emerged with some rust issues, weathered paint, and notable wear and tear inside the cabin.
Upon lifting the hood, he discovered a partially dismantled 440 V8, but the second owner confirmed he had most of the missing components, including the carburetor and the air cleaner. The numbers-matching drivetrain and the original paint and interior prompted Mr. Collins to purchase the car.
Making the deal that much better, he learned that the B5 Blue coupe is actually notably rarer than the average 1974 Road Runner GTX. As per the second owner, this Mopar is one of only 25 promo cars built that year. They were all finished in blue with matching interiors and equipped with identical options before being sent to dealers.
I covered one of these cars in April 2023 when a derelict and incomplete example was found in a junkyard. It's unclear how many of these promo cars are still in one piece, but it seems only a handful have been documented so far.
Hopefully, this one will get the restoration it deserves—or at least a revival as an unrestored survivor with a running powertrain. Until that happens, check it out in the video below.