Aero Warriors

Richard Petty's Superbird at the Petty Museum

Aero Warriors is a nickname for four muscle cars, also called aero-cars, developed specifically to race on the NASCAR circuit by Dodge, Plymouth, Ford and Mercury for the 1969 and 1970 racing seasons. The cars were based on production stock cars but had additional aerodynamic features.

The first Aero Warrior was the 1969 Ford Torino Talladega. The Torino already had a fastback design; the Talladega added a longer, slightly rounded front end. The second Aero Warrior was the 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II. The Cyclone was nearly identical to the Torino with the only major distinctions being the front grille and rear taillights. Another aero car is the Dodge Charger Daytona, which had a more radical aerodynamic nose as well as a high-mounted wing at the rear. The final Aero Warrior was the 1970 Plymouth Superbird (based on the Plymouth Road Runner), which had the same aerodynamic additions as the Daytona. Because of their wings, the Mopar Aero Warriors are sometimes called the Winged Warriors.

Due to NASCAR homologation rules a minimum number (500) of these cars had to be offered for sale to the public so there are approximately 3,000 of these cars in private ownership. The Aero Warriors were successful in winning many races but NASCAR made rule changes that equalized the advantages in 1971. Plymouth made a Superbird prototype in 1971 but it did not go into production.