1957 Plymouth Savoy – Classified of the Week

If the 1958 Plymouth Fury in Stephen King’s Christine was hell incarnate, murderous, jealous and downright evil, this 1957 Plymouth Savoy would be its sister, Susan. Susan is not very angry, she’s not once done any murdering, she thinks jealousy is a nasty trait and she is no more evil than a custard cream. Ergo, this 1957 version is arguably a safer bet than a Fury. Less chance of being possessed by the evil spirit of a past owner, that’s for sure. Or at least, we assume. Never say never.

America in the 1950s was a nation obsessed. Obsessed with speed, with the space race, with image, with chrome and with power. And these obsessions were clear for all to see when it came to the country’s cars. Big monsters with tail fins more befitting a rocket than a car… which was of course intentional. Big engines were also the order of the day, and America made light work of extracting minimal power and economy from maximum capacity – seriously, six-litre V8s with about 125bhp were common. But hey, petrol was cheaper than air, so why not? Of course, this obsession with all things eight-cylinders didn’t resonate with every buyer, which is where cars like this Savoy came in.

The big American carmakers didn’t just offer big engines. They also offered more frugal options that still had the looks. In a Fury or a Belvedere – the higher specification models – you’d find a V8. In this middle-of-the-road Savoy, or the no expense spent Plaza below it, you’d find a flathead straight-six. Not the most exciting of engines, but enough to pull the car along. You got the same general aesthetic, too. The same body, the same fins, and plenty of chrome. Furys and Belvederes had even more specification though, with power steering, seats, windows and so on. But, when it’s 2022, the basic Savoy makes more sense, as its mechanical nature means there has been less to go wrong over the decades past.

This car is a proper little stunner it has to be said. White over red over white, with dog dish hubcaps and whitewall tyres, it’s a gloriously bright slice of ’50s Americana. It’s a four-door, too. This means it’s more practical, should you need it to be. It’s also more accurate if you are a Christine fan, as the car in the book was a four-door, too. Inside, you’ve got what looks to be a freshly re-trimmed red and white cabin, a big red dash, period radio, horizontal speedometer and what looks to be a column-change manual. Very nice indeed.

Under the big domed bonnet, you’ve got the aforementioned flathead straight-six, which has covered 86,500 miles according to the dash. It’s all clean and tidy under there, and while the originality is to be celebrated, there is no denying the appeal of pulling it out and dropping in a more aggressive V8. But that’s down to you. We’d also lower it just a tad, and fit some slightly bigger, slightly wider wheels for better road holding if nothing else. What’s on there looks a little skinny.

And the best bit is, you could make those changes to this because it’s a mere £27,500. And that is a bargain for a car of this vintage and of this condition. There is one small catch in that the car is in Portugal, but that means it’s been warm, dry and away from salt. Plus, it’s no major issue to import a car yourself, as we have covered in a past article. If you want a really special American car, this has to be it. Rare, stunning and with some horror film history behind it, buying this 1957 Plymouth Savoy would be very, very savvy.