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One look at David Manbys snarling PlymouthSavoy tells you this is a car to be respected.

By the time your eyes take in the enormous fins,this hulking beast has you ensnared

Wrs Bn Din

Phts Nn Dff

1960Plymouth Savoy

Road

PreDator

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ustralia is famous worldwide for the

number of sharks in its waters. Though

the yearly fatality rate from shark attacks

is low, there is something about being

hunted by a great white that sends a

chill down most peoples spines.

It could be the razor-sharp teeth that

can strip meat off bone faster than a fat

uncle at a drunken Christmas barbecue.

Or it could be that fin slicing effortlessly

through the water. David is not one to be afraid

of fins though he loves em as is evidenced

by his taste in cars.

Davids 1960 Plymouth Savoy may not be

the first car you think of when big fins are

mentioned, but these particular tail rockets

are a little bit special.

Firstly, they are the biggest fins to appear onany Plymouth model (and are actually close to

Cadillac fins in height) but they were also the

last, as by 1961 Plymouth made the unfortunate

decision to drop tailfins altogether.

Another reason the Savoy is special is that

it was the last of Plymouths Forward Look

designs pioneered by styling guru Virgil Exner.

Not a pretty faceThe face of the Savoy is not a particularly

handsome one, with angular eyebrows and

toothy grille giving quite a menacing, almost

vicious, look to the front end. Very much like a

great white shark. The long sleek body and

large fins only serve to draw more comparisonswith the great predator. While from behind its a

car that draws much comment and admiration,

when walking to the front silence ensues as the

challenging-looking countenance is pondered.

David agrees that the look of the front is one that

grows on you, albeit slowly. It is very distinctive

though Davids car more so as it has an extra

bumper over-rider (not commonly found on this

model) that adds more anger to the faade.

Another design aspect often commented on

is the front wheel arches, which trace a non-

traditional line over the front fender that feeds

into the eyebrows above the headlights.

With such a strong face its no wonder the

Stephen King movie Christine featured a cousinto the Savoy, in the form of a 1958 Plymouth

Fury. Evil indeed.

Besides the aesthetic concerns, there were

some truly ground-breaking technologies

employed in the 1960 Plymouth models. Probably

the boldest move (in the U.S. at least) was the

adoption of a unitary body design instead of the

old body on chassis set-up, which brought

about greater structural rigidity.

The 1960 Savoy also saw the continuation

of the torsion bar-based suspension system

introduced in 1957 that aimed to give the car

better ride quality. David can attest to this as

the country roads that snake over the lush green

A

Prosaic, PLEasE

At the time of its release,Plymouth referred to theSavoys fins as stabilizers.

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1960Plymouth Savoy

FaLL guy Designer Virgil Exner paid the ultimateprice for his bold designs he was fired when the

Savoy didnt meet its sales targets

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mencing lkt the frnt

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hills outside of Lismore in northern

NSW are not known for their

smoothness, but the Savoy cruises

beautifully, even down the

corrugated roads to Davids door.

Interestingly, the Plymouth model

range in the 1950s was designated

by hotel names, with the Belvedere

being the top-of-the-range model,

the Savoy in the middle and the

Plaza as the budget option. This

changed a little in 1960 when the

Savoy like Davids was demoted

to base-model status with the Plaza

name disappearing.

the MaN behiNdthe fiNsVirgil Exner is a name that may not

be familiar to most, but to Chrysler

cognoscenti it is the name that

changed the brand forever.

Exner was the driving forcebehind putting fins onto Chrysler

products from the mid-1950s to the

early 60s and created some of the

greatest-looking Chrysler, Desoto

and Plymouth models of all time.

But it wasnt just fins that Exner

championed during his time at

Chrysler. On entering the company

Chrysler was still producing boxy

designs that owed more design

credence to the previous decade

than to the 1950s. Bold concept

designs that bordered on the realm

of science fiction, like the Dodge

Firearrow and the Ghia ChryslerDiablo, helped to fill Exners already

impressive portfolio, which many

believe reached its peak during his

time with Chrysler.

Exner wanted to change the

dowdy design language of Chrysler

into something that would give the

other two in the Big Three Ford

and GM a run for their market

share. From the mid-50s to 1960

Virgil Exners designs helped to do

just that, with the Chrysler group

almost snatching second spot in

the Big Three.

Toppling giants is a tough gamethough, and while serious issues in

the 1957 model (due to it being

rushed) didnt hurt sales as much

as expected, they did leave doubts

about the reliability of subsequent

Plymouths.

Exners shadow still looms large

over Chrysler, as the ghost of his

influential 300C design of 1957 can

be seen in some of the lines of the

current Chrysler 300C.

Exner was ultimately fired as the

designs he was ordered to concoct

failed to sell very well. These

5.2-litre V8, the whole engine looks

a bit petite in such a large engine

bay. Naturally Plymouth offered

other V8 engine options ranging

from 270cu.in (4.4 litres) to

395cu.in (6.5 litres) including

the legendary twin four-barrel

Sonoramic Commando option.An unusual build spec, this

Savoy features a three-on-the-tree

manual gearbox behind the engine

which David says offers a bit of a

workout. Not surprisingly, the

unassisted steering and brakes

also need a bit of force applied to

work well, but David doesnt mind.

So original was the restoration

process that the exhaust is the

original single pipe system with

a very small diameter.

The interior is typical for the era

with minimal instrumentation, just

the speedometer, temperature andfuel gauges to look at on the dash,

with not even a radio to listen to.

What is not typical is the

instrument binnacle itself. Called

the Jet Age look, the long elliptic

speedometer looks very futuristic.

David reckons the spaceship-like

style is more like the Media Centre

stand at Lords Cricket Ground.

With simple bench seats front

and back, the Savoy can comfortably

seat six people. The scale of the

interior (and the car as a whole) is

impressive even the boot could

accommodate more people thanmost modern small cars, probably

in more comfort too!

The large glass area is a very

different experience, giving

excellent vision all round, but

replacing it could be a real pain.

catch aNd releaseBy the time this goes to print, the

Savoy may well be enjoying the

attentions of a new owner, as David

has room for only one Plymouth in

his already bulging shed.

He will be sad to see the big

green shark go, but his recentlyacquired 56 Belvedere Coupe has

chomped its way to the top of the

food chain at Davids house.

The 1960 Plymouth Savoy is the

ultimate expression of a time when

interesting design and fins ruled

the automotive world. The loss of

such bold designs, and designers

like Virgil Exner who realised

them, is surely to our detriment.

Lets hope that these beautiful

pieces of rolling history continue to

stalk our roads in search of bland

design prey.

tELL-taLE signs ThePlymouths distinctiverear brake light and logo.

1960 Plymouth

Savoy SeDaN

EnginE:318ci pushrod V8

BorE: 3.91

StrokE: 3.31

PowEr: 230bhp (172kW)@ 4400rpm

torquE: 340 lb/ft(460Nm) @ 2400 rpm

ComPrESSion ratio:

9.1:1

tranSmiSSion: Three-speed, column mounted

Front SuSPEnSion:

Torsion bar

rEar SuSPEnSion:

Leaf springs

whEElBaSE

118.0in (2997 mm)

wEight 3433lbs (1557kg)

PriCE whEn nEw

US$2310

total ProduCtion:

51,384

SPeCSThe

plucked chickens as he called

them, were the last Exner designs

produced by Chrysler. An unfitting

end to the most extraordinary

designer of the fin era.

seMaNtic spiNIn the promotional material of the

time, Plymouth referred to their

rear protuberances not as fins but

stabilizers. The idea was that the

car has two centres: one of gravity

and one of pressure. Plymouth

claimed the stabilizers reduced the

need for steering corrections in a

crosswind by 20 per cent, though if

a strong crosswind did sail across

those fins, there would probably

be a raised eyebrow or two at

Plymouths claim.

the huNt

Davids connection to Plymouthstarts in the old country, as he

hails from Plymouth in the UK.

It was there that he started out

collecting all sorts of Plymouth-

related paraphernalia.

While some people would be

happy with a few postcards and

other tourist trinkets, David has

taken this to the extreme by

owning several Plymouth cars,

including this Savoy and a recently

acquired 1956 Belvedere coup. The

Plymouth connection continues as

the badge of the 1956 Belvedere

features the first pilgrims ship,the Mayflower, which landed at

Plymouth Rock in the US.

David came across this example

advertised on the internet and

liked it so much that he put a call

into the Seattle-based dealer

immediately to get the low-down.

The car was originally an

Arizona car, bought new in 1960

by a family who owned it for many

years. Around 1990 the car

underwent a full restoration in the

States and was driven very little

afterward. In fact the car has

only done 4000 miles since thatrestoration which, amazingly, is

verified by paperwork that dates

from 1960 until David bought it.

The mileage currently stands at

around 70,000 miles.

The Savoy was repainted the

original Chrome Green Metallic

during the restoration process, with

the 318 cubic-inch Y block V8

receiving a full rebuild and paint

along the way. The standard two-

barrel carburettor remains, but

looks small under the giant red air-

cleaner. In fact, despite being a

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