# Plymouth Belvedere
The Plymouth Belvedere was an automobile sold by Chrysler Corporation's Plymouth division for model years 1954 to 1970, beginning as a full-size flagship and ending as a mid-size B-body car that served as the platform for the Road Runner and GTX.[1](https://www.classic.com/m/plymouth/belvedere/) The name had first appeared as the top trim level of the Plymouth Cranbrook before becoming a standalone model.[1](https://www.classic.com/m/plymouth/belvedere/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Production run | Model years 1954 to 1970, in seven generations: 1954, 1955–1956, 1957–1959, 1960–1961, 1962–1964, 1965–1967, and 1968–1970[1](https://www.classic.com/m/plymouth/belvedere/) |
| Body styles | Sedan, convertible, and wagon, with hardtops and two-door Suburban wagons in specific years[1](https://www.classic.com/m/plymouth/belvedere/) • [2](https://www.hagerty.com/valuation-tools/plymouth/belvedere/1957/1957-plymouth-belvedere) |
| First V-8 year | 1955, when a 167-hp, 259-cid V-8 became standard on the convertible Belvedere[2](https://www.hagerty.com/valuation-tools/plymouth/belvedere/1957/1957-plymouth-belvedere) |
| Peak year | 1957, when Plymouth built 729,369 cars and recaptured third place in industry sales from Buick[3](https://a1.myautoworld.com/2651) |
| Position change | Moved from full-size to mid-size B-body for 1965, when the Fury took the full-size slot[4](https://www.dodge-wiki.com/wiki/Plymouth_Satellite) |
| Replacement | Discontinued after the 1970 model year, replaced by the Satellite[5](https://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z14234/plymouth-belvedere.aspx) |
| Collector value | Average sale price $43,130; highest recorded sale $297,000 for a 1965 A/fx Haulin Hemi II on January 14, 2022[1](https://www.classic.com/m/plymouth/belvedere/) |
## Origins as a trim name, 1951–1954
Plymouth introduced the Belvedere name in 1953 as the high-line subset of the Cranbrook line, and in 1954 it returned as Plymouth's standalone luxury car.[2](https://www.hagerty.com/valuation-tools/plymouth/belvedere/1957/1957-plymouth-belvedere) The 1954 range included a four-door sedan, a two-door hardtop, a convertible, and a two-door Suburban station wagon. The standard engine was a 217-cid, 100-hp [L-head](https://www.edgepedia.org/flathead-engine) six-cylinder with a three-speed manual as the base transmission; the semi-automatic Hy-Drive, a torque-converter and three-speed combination, was offered for the last time that year, and the PowerFlite automatic was optional. Prices hovered around $2,000.[2](https://www.hagerty.com/valuation-tools/plymouth/belvedere/1957/1957-plymouth-belvedere) A 1954 Belvedere also served as the test platform for the first gas-turbine-powered Chrysler car.[3](https://a1.myautoworld.com/2651)
## The Forward Look era, 1955–1959
**The 1955 redesign transformed the nameplate.** Plymouth redesigned its entire line in parallel with the Forward Look revisions at Chrysler, DeSoto, and Dodge under designer [Virgil Exner](https://www.edgepedia.org/virgil-exner), and 1955 was the first year for both a Plymouth V-8 and an Exner-designed Forward Look Plymouth.[2](https://www.hagerty.com/valuation-tools/plymouth/belvedere/1957/1957-plymouth-belvedere) • [3](https://a1.myautoworld.com/2651) Plymouth sales soared to 670,000 units, of which the Belvedere accounted for 275,000. These vehicles featured a longer, lower, and sleeker design—so much longer, in fact, that assembly lines required a 67-foot extension—while a new V-8 producing 167 hp from 259 cubic inches came standard on the convertible and as an option on the remaining body styles.[2](https://www.hagerty.com/valuation-tools/plymouth/belvedere/1957/1957-plymouth-belvedere)
In 1956, Chrysler fitted a Belvedere with a turbine engine in place of the standard gasoline engine as a public relations campaign and drove it across the United States.[6](https://carsandracingstuff.com/library/b/belvedere.php)
**1957 was the high point.** Plymouths came in three series, Plaza, Savoy, and Belvedere, with the limited-production Fury muscle car version available mid-year.[3](https://a1.myautoworld.com/2651) On January 24, 1957, a Belvedere rolled off the assembly line as the 10,000,000th Plymouth produced.[7](https://automotivehistory.org/10-millionth-plymouth/) Plymouth production totaled 729,369 cars for the 1957 model run, and the success let Plymouth recapture third place in industry sales from Buick.[3](https://a1.myautoworld.com/2651) A Motor Trend road test of a 1957 Belvedere four-door sedan with the 301-cubic-inch V-8, the power pack of dual exhausts and a four-barrel carburetor, [TorqueFlite](https://www.edgepedia.org/torqueflite) automatic, and power steering and brakes found it the middle performer of the [Big Three](https://www.edgepedia.org/big-three-automobile-manufacturers) cars tested, with acceleration between the 200-hp 1956 Belvedere and the 1956 Fury hardtop.[8](https://over-drive-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1957-01-MT-1957-Plymouth-Road-Test-1-4.pdf) A Hot Rod test of a Belvedere two-door hardtop recorded 235 brake horsepower and 305 pounds-feet of torque from the Fury 301 engine with the power pack.[9](https://www.hotrod.com/features/plymouth-fury-vs-stock-may-1957-982-374-16-1)
The 1957 Belvedere two-door hardtop later gained unusual fame as the "buried car" of [Tulsa, Oklahoma](https://www.edgepedia.org/tulsa-oklahoma), a 1957 1/2 example with the revised mid-year grille, painted Desert Gold with a Sand Dune White roof and Sportone color-sweep trim; 71,939 Belvedere V-8 two-door hardtops were built in 1957.[3](https://a1.myautoworld.com/2651) The generation's reputation suffered from rushed production: floors and bodywork often rotted, and the dealer-offered underseal treatment proved the best investment for owners intending to keep the car more than a year or two.[10](https://www.classic-american.com/smooth-sailing/) Belvedere convertibles were available before 1957, including 1954, and were also produced from 1957 to 1959.[11](https://www.ronhilbert.com/plymouth-maintenance.htm) • [13](https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/1953-54-plymouth) • [14](https://www.hagerty.com/valuation-tools/plymouth/satellite/1965/1965-plymouth-satellite-base)
## From full-size to mid-size, 1960–1970
The fourth and fifth generations (1960–1964) continued the Belvedere as a full-size Plymouth, but the nameplate's role changed in 1965. When a new, larger [Plymouth Fury](https://www.edgepedia.org/plymouth-fury) was introduced for 1965 on Chrysler's full-size C platform, the Belvedere name moved to Plymouth's mid-size line, in what was really a continuation of Plymouth's full-size 1962 to 1964 models.[4](https://www.dodge-wiki.com/wiki/Plymouth_Satellite) Plymouth's own history describes the 1965 Belvedere as the division's entry in the growing intermediate-size car market.[3](https://a1.myautoworld.com/2651)
**The mid-size Belvedere became a muscle car platform.** The 1968 model year brought both a major restyling and a new top-level Sport Satellite trim, while the Belvedere name was thenceforth applied only to the entry-level base models; this body remained in production through 1970, receiving slight front and rear styling updates that year.[4](https://www.dodge-wiki.com/wiki/Plymouth_Satellite) Plymouth introduced the Road Runner for 1968 as a powerful but no-frills muscle car based on the Belvedere.[3](https://a1.myautoworld.com/2651) For model year 1968, Plymouth Chrysler recorded total sales of 2,502 units with 426-cid Street Hemis.[12](https://www.automobile-catalog.com/production/plymouth/belvedere_7gen.html) After the 1970 model year the Belvedere was replaced by the [Satellite](https://www.edgepedia.org/satellite).[5](https://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z14234/plymouth-belvedere.aspx)
## Collector market
Surviving Belvederes trade across a wide price range. The average sale price is $43,130, the highest recorded sale was $297,000 for a 1965 Belvedere A/fx Haulin Hemi II on January 14, 2022, and the lowest recorded sale was $3,300 for a 1959 Belvedere on December 4, 2025.[1](https://www.classic.com/m/plymouth/belvedere/) The 1957 generation remains the most visible among collectors, helped by the Tulsa buried car story and the generation's Exner styling.[3](https://a1.myautoworld.com/2651)
## References
1. [Plymouth Belvedere Market, CLASSIC.COM](https://www.classic.com/m/plymouth/belvedere/)
2. [1957 Plymouth Belvedere Base Value, Hagerty Valuation Tools](https://www.hagerty.com/valuation-tools/plymouth/belvedere/1957/1957-plymouth-belvedere)
3. [Plymouth Automobile History (1928–2001), myAutoWorld.com](https://a1.myautoworld.com/2651)
4. [Plymouth Satellite, Dodge Wiki](https://www.dodge-wiki.com/wiki/Plymouth_Satellite)
5. [1957 Plymouth Belvedere, conceptcarz.com](https://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z14234/plymouth-belvedere.aspx)
6. [Plymouth Belvedere, The Crittenden Automotive Library](https://carsandracingstuff.com/library/b/belvedere.php)
7. [January 24, 1957 – The 10,000,000th Plymouth, This Day In Automotive History](https://automotivehistory.org/10-millionth-plymouth/)
8. [1957 Plymouth Belvedere Road Test, Motor Trend (January 1957), Over-Drive Magazine](https://over-drive-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1957-01-MT-1957-Plymouth-Road-Test-1-4.pdf)
9. [Plymouth: Fury vs. Stock, Hot Rod (May 1957)](https://www.hotrod.com/features/plymouth-fury-vs-stock-may-1957-982-374-16-1)
10. [The 1957 Plymouth Belvedere worth waiting 10 years for, Classic American Magazine](https://www.classic-american.com/smooth-sailing/)
11. [Maintenance Log of my 1957 Plymouth Belvedere Convertible, ronhilbert.com](https://www.ronhilbert.com/plymouth-maintenance.htm)
12. [Plymouth Belvedere 7th generation production numbers, automobile-catalog.com](https://www.automobile-catalog.com/production/plymouth/belvedere_7gen.html)
13. [For 1953-'54, Plymouth tried smaller approach](https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/1953-54-plymouth)
14. [1965 Plymouth Satellite Base, hagerty.com](https://www.hagerty.com/valuation-tools/plymouth/satellite/1965/1965-plymouth-satellite-base)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Transport and spaceflight › Road transport › Automobiles › American automobile models › Full-size and family sedans*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license