6 was among the precious few muscle vehicles from that 12 months that wanted no excuses. It was daring, it was dangerous. Some said it was stunning. As soon as again, the Plymouth GTX performed upscale companion to the funds-muscle Highway Runner. Each had been part of Chrysler's revamped midsize line (which also included the Dodge Charger), and each got curvaceous new "fuselage" styling on a wheelbase one inch shorter than before. With the new body got here a 3-inch enhance in rear track, which benefited handling, plus a reconfigured interior with a more-snug driving position and superior ergonomics. Highway Runner's commonplace 383-cid 4 barrel, as an example, misplaced 35 bhp. GTX engines, nonetheless, held out comparatively unscathed. 6 misplaced solely 5 bhp, to 370 and 385, respectively. The additional-cost and seldom-ordered 426 Hemi held fast at 425 bhp. Four-speeds and TorqueFlites, with axle ratios up to 4.10:1, had been still available, as was the Air Grabber hood.
Weight was up by about 170 pounds, nonetheless, and quarter-mile occasions crept increased, by almost a full second in some exams. The '71 GTX additionally had the stiffest suspension charges of any Mopar intermediate, and whereas dealing with was satisfactory, most testers concluded that it wasn't good enough to justify the rock-onerous journey. But clearly, there was sinew beneath that new skin, and the car might nonetheless scale muscle's twin peaks: under 14 seconds and over one hundred mph in the quarter-mile. As it turned out, MemoryWave Official the GTX succumbed sooner moderately than later to the forces killing sizzling machinery