Saturday 7th January 1956
The Plymouth Fury sport coupe was introduced. The Fury was a sub-series of the Plymouth Belvedere from 1956 through 1958. It was sold only as a Sandstone White 2-door hardtop with gold anodized aluminum trim in 1956 and 1957. In 1958 it was only available in Buckskin Beige with gold anodized aluminum trim. These Furys had a special interior, bumper wing-guards and a V8 engine with twin 4-barrel carburetors. The 1957 and 1958, the 318 cu in (5.21 L) engine produced 290 hp (220 kW).
The 1957 models were restyled; longer, wider, with very large vertical tailfins and a new torsion bar front suspension replacing the previous coil springs. While the new styling boosted sales, quality control suffered for all Chrysler products as they were brought quickly to market before their design and construction weaknesses could be fully addressed by engineering.
In 1958, the optional engine was a 350 cu in (5.7 L) called Golden Commando with two 4-bbl carburetors producing 305 hp (227 kW). A 315-hp option with fuel injection was available, but the electronic Bendix fuel-injection system was recalled by the factory and owners were given a conventional dual four-barrel setup. The Golden Commando engine was optional on any Plymouth Plaza, Savoy, Belvedere, Suburban, and Fury, as was the dual four-barrel 318 cu in (5.21 L) (dubbed V-800 Dual Fury; four- and two-barrel 318s also arrived for 1958 and were simply called V-800).
The Fury was a full-size car from 1959 to 1961, then a mid-size car from 1962 to 1964, again a full-size car from 1965 to 1974, and again a mid-size car from 1975 to 1978. From 1975 to 1977 the Fury was sold alongside the full-size Plymouth Gran Fury.
The word “fury” denotes a type of anger, inspired by the Furies, mythological creatures in Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman mythology.
The model appears in popular culture as the subject of interest in the 1983 New York Times Best-selling novel Christine by Stephen King about a 1958 custom red and ivory Plymouth Fury that is part of a frightening love triangle.
