Featured is a 1960 Plymouth Fury Four Door Sedan. .The Plymouth Fury started out as a sub-series of the full size 1956 Plymouth Belvedere. The Fury then was made it’s own series placed above the Belvedere in 1959.
The Plymouth Fury changed sizes several times. The 1960 and 61 models were full size cars.The model was a mid-size car from 1962 to 1964, then again a full-size car from 1965 to 1974, and a mid-size car from 1975 to 1978.
In 1960, the Fury was no longer a high performance sports sedan, but a whole line of top-series Plymouths. For 1960 the Plymouth Fury was one of the most futuristic appearing cars ever produced. With sweeping tall rear tail fins the Fury was fierce competition to even the Cadillac. giant of a car that possesses real presence.
The 1960 Plymouth
The styling for the 1960 Plymouth was led by Virgil Exner. Exner was a noted designer and worked for several companies during his legendary career but is mostly remembered for his styling work at Chrysler and Studebaker. Over the years Virgil Exner designed everything from automobiles to powerboats. There is no doubt but
The 1960 Plymouths were still a part of Chrysler Corporation’s Forward Look era which began back in 1955.
Much to the surprise of some competitors, all 1957 Chrysler Corporation models from Plymouth to Imperial, appeared lower, longer, and wider than anything else on the market. Along with those changes were those towering tail fins mentioned above. There’s an interesting side note regarding Virgil Exner and large automobile tail fins. Exner, as well as other styliists, relied on universally popular aerospace themes for those 1950’s designs. He also used used wind tunnel data regarding aerodynamics. It’s said that Exner used this data to convince automobile executives that they could sell big tail fin cars as being more stable at speed. You might sum it up by saying that Exner designed vehicles that were wanted by the car buying public for their looks but at the same time, were very well engineered;
The Plymouth Sport Fury was dropped for 1961 making the 1960 a three model lineup. As it turned out the Sport Fury did come back in 1961 for a length run. There was a new bottom-bottom line called the Fleet Special made up of cars designed specifically for taxi and other commercial uses.
1960 Plymouth Specifications
Engines available on the 1960 Plymouth Fury included a 225 cubic inch Slant Six along with several V-8’s. The Slant Six was one of the better six cylinders at the time delivering 145 HP. V-8’s included a 317 cubic inch, 360 cubic inch, and a 383 cubic inch. Horsepower ranged from 230 to 330.
Transmissions included a three speed manual and a two and three speed automatic.
Brakes were four wheel hydraulic drums.
Dimensions included a 118.0 inch wheelbase, overall length 209.4 inches, 78.6 inch width. Curb weight averaged about 3,600 lbs.
The Plymouth Division sold about 186,000 full-size models in 1960. Out of that amount about 65,000 were Furys.
Related Auto Museum Online articles are found on the links below…
Reference material for this article includes…Plymouth 1946-1959 by author James A. Benjaminson…the Plymouth Owner’s Club…Virgil Exner: Visioneer: The official biography of Virgil M. Exner, designer extraordinaire by author Peter Grist.
1960 Plymouth Fury Collector Cars
If you’re looking for a vehicle that might be the best example of Chrysler Corporation’s Forward Look, it could be the 1960 Plymouth Fury.
For 1960 Fury examples in excellent,restored condition you’ll find models currently priced in a range of from $40,000 to about $85,000. Convertible Furys in like condition will be priced on the high end.
(Article and photos copyright Auto Museum Online)