Plymouth’s iconic 50s car deserves the right kind of rebirth, and here the redesigned Fury looks interesting in a sea of mundane modern muscle cars.
It’s a shame that modern, retro-styled cars like the 11th-generation Ford Thunderbird and the Chrysler PT Cruiser simply won’t return. We are now firmly in futuristic-design-territory where the pixel lights of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the lightbar-encrusted crossover are the new norm.
You could argue that the classic cars of the 50s represent a kind of pinnacle of design originality and optimism that will never return – but the reliability, performance, fuel economy, comfort and emissions of those cars are way behind.
HotCars digital artist Rostislav Prokop comes up with a solution to a unique proposition; the excellence of the 1958 Plymouth Fury’s design built to 2023’s engineering – and aerodynamics – standards.
What we end up with is something that could reinvigorate the current standard of muscle car design with a shot in the arm of that 50s kind of confidence and imagination.
We’re thinking a cold-fusion reactor, designed to look like a toaster. Or better yet – taking advantage of all the advances of 65 years of technology with the kind of design that got conceived by a talented artist using charcoal in a design studio.
The 1958 Plymouth Fury Redesign For 2023 Draws On The Ford Thunderbird
Yes, this ’58 Plymouth Fury render isn’t all that similar to the 11-th gen Ford Thunderbird but the retro inspiration of both is clear. A high front sloping to a lower rear deck, the proportions and the color scheme of the Plymouth Fury get adapted to this new design.
What you most likely remember of the 1958 Fury are the front end and those rear wings, both of which return for the render.
Up front, the quad headlights are L.E.D rings, which push up the front of the hood like the beady eyes of the 50s classic, although you won’t find any chrome here – you can thank modern crash safety and cost for that.
The white roof and red paint hark back to Steven King’s antagonist from Christine as well, and the large rims are chrome, too. Moreover, fortunately the car sits low, so that it may be more agile at speed.
How Many 1958 Plymouth Furys Are There?
The piece de la resistance of Rostislav Prokop’s car is the rear which slopes down from the narrow C pillars as a fastback slope, with a small Porsche 911-inspired ducktail and eventually a light bar, twin-integrated exhausts, and a subtle diffuser.
It’s not the modern touches that make this car though – it’s the way the rear wing tips get inserted into the design with L.E.D lights in a way that looks every bit as vintage as it does fresh and original compared to today’s muscle cars.
Perhaps there’s nothing wrong with turning modern design on its head with a little help from the past after all. Either way, fans of the original Plymouth Fury will know that there were few made all those years ago – around 5300 cars got made for the 1958 model year.
Considering the production numbers and the likelihood of cars suffering rust, accident damage and simply going for scrap, there are far fewer Furys to survive today.
The first-generation Plymouth Fury’s engine was a 5.2-liter V8 with around 290 hp, but an optional ‘Golden Commando’ 5.7-liter V8 offered around 300 hp for those in a hurry.