1971 Roadrunner Drawing

I love Mopars. One of my favorite cars is the Plymouth Roadrunner. I vividly remember my first time visiting the drag strip with my friends. It was my birthday and I was about ten years old. We were walking through the pit area of Kilkare dragway, and a tubbed 1969 Roadrunner rumbled up behind us and staged to race. It was one of those defining moments in my life – right then, I knew I was a muscle car guy.

To me, the first generation Roadrunner is the most iconic. The large, square B-body Mopar has muscular rear haunches and a face that means business. I think most people think of these earlier cars – the 1968, 1969, and 1970 model years – when they think of classic Roadrunners. To serve these Roadrunner fans, I made this 1969 Roadrunner drawing which I will make into prints to sell at shows.

The second generation B-Body Roadrunner has a significant following, too. These 1971-1974 cars were significantly updated in design, and send a different ethos. While still muscular, these cars appeared sleeker, smaller, and lighter. In reality they were actually larger and heavier. My first memorable encounter with a second-generation Roadrunner was watching Daisy Duke wheel a 1974 model around the dirt roads of Georgia on The Dukes of Hazzard.

To commemorate the second generation Roadrunner, I made this red 1971 roadrunner drawing. The bean-shaped grille has a unique aggressiveness to it. I gave the car body color steel wheels with poverty caps (my favorite!) mounted on raised white letter tires. I also gave the car the wacky 1970s roof strobe decals, which were weird, but common on these cars.