Christine Car: What Kind of Car Was Christine? (1958 Fury)

Christine was a 1958 Plymouth Fury, at least on paper. Stephen King’s 1983 novel names that exact model, and the Petersen Automotive Museum describes the film car as a Plymouth Fury too. The catch is that the real 1958 Fury left the factory in only one color, Buckskin Beige, and the sources below disagree on how many Furys the film crew actually used. This page separates what each source states, and when, from what gets repeated without one.

What Kind of Car Was Christine?

Short answer: a 1958 Plymouth Fury. The author’s own site calls the novel’s car a haunted 1958 Plymouth Fury that its previous owner named Christine, and the Petersen Automotive Museum says the film follows a possessed Plymouth Fury. Plymouth introduced the Fury for the 1956 model year as a sub-series of the Belvedere, and it stayed a Belvedere sub-series until 1959, per Petersen.

The red-and-white look is the story’s choice, not the factory’s. Petersen states that in 1958 the Fury was only available in Buckskin Beige with gold-anodized aluminum trim, with beige or gold interiors. A Jalopnik feature dated Feb. 17, 2026 says the same thing, and adds that the novel swapped that palette for a fictitious shade called Autumn Red.

Every statement here comes from a page read in full in October 2026: Stephen King’s official site, the Petersen Automotive Museum, Stellantis’ Plymouth brand timeline and the Jalopnik feature. Figures that could not be traced to a readable page, such as 0-60 times and top speeds, are left out.

Christine Car in the Novel: What Stephen King’s Site Says

Per stephenking.com, Christine was released April 29, 1983, by Viking Press. The site summarizes it as a love triangle involving 17-year-old misfit Arnie Cunningham, his new girlfriend and a haunted 1958 Plymouth Fury. The flap copy places the story in a middle-class suburb of Pittsburgh in 1978, and describes the car as a “white-over-red two-toned” survivor of an earlier era.

The same site’s character list is slightly different: it describes Christine as a 1958 red Plymouth Fury, and lists Roland D. LeBay as the man who sold the car to Arnie. Two short descriptions from one author’s site do not match word for word, which is a good reminder that the book is a story, not a spec sheet. Neither names an engine, so nothing about horsepower can be sourced to the novel.

King’s own account of where the idea came from is on the same page. He describes watching his car’s odometer roll from 9999.9 to 10,000 and wondering about an odometer that ran backward, with a car that would get younger instead of older. He first thought it would be a funny short story in the spirit of American Graffiti, and a long supernatural novel came out instead.

Why a Plymouth? Jalopnik cites a 1984 interview with Lofficier in which King said he picked the model because these were almost forgotten cars, and he did not want one that already had a legend, like the fifties Thunderbird or the Ford Galaxies. That is a second-hand citation, not a quote checked at the source.

Christine Movie Car: Fury, Savoy or Belvedere?

The film adaptation was directed by John Carpenter, per Jalopnik. What the sources say about the cars is where things get messy. Petersen states that 24 Plymouth Furys were acquired for production. Jalopnik says filmmakers cobbled a number of Christines together from over 20 different Savoys and Belvederes and a single Fury. Both point to more than twenty cars; they disagree on what those cars were.

How can both be partly right? One reading is that “Fury” was used loosely, with lower-trim Plymouths dressed up to match. That reading is this page’s inference, not something either source states, so no firm count of Furys is given here. If you see a precise number of cars used or destroyed on another site, ask where it came from.

Jalopnik describes the on-screen look as red paint with a white roof and pitch-black window tint, and adds that the film used engine sounds from a 1970 Mustang 428 Super Cobra Jet. In other words, the noise people remember from the movie did not come from a Plymouth engine, per that one source.

The museum’s car has the clearest paper trail on the page. Petersen says the stunt car was supposed to be crushed after the movie debuted, but its current owner, Martin Sanchez, saved it and used parts from the other Christines to restore it to its original condition. It is listed as part of the collection of Martin C. Sanchez and shown in The Vault. So even a celebrated screen car can be a parts-built survivor, which matters for anyone judging authenticity.

The Real 1958 Plymouth Fury: What the Sources Confirm

Stellantis’ Plymouth brand timeline, dated June 12, 2007, says Chrysler Corporation created the Plymouth division in 1928 to compete with Chevrolet and Ford in the entry-level market. It lists 1956 as the year Plymouth introduced the Fury, calling it one of the most celebrated Exner “Forward Look” cars, and credits 1957 ‘Flite-Sweep’ styling as the second generation of that look. It also says the Plymouth division ended production in 2001.

For production context, Jalopnik reports that around 325,000 Plymouth coupes and sedans were made for 1958 in three trim levels: Plaza, Savoy and Belvedere. The Fury was a sports package added to the Belvedere, and Jalopnik says only around 5,000 were assembled, against roughly one million full-size Chevrolet coupes and sedans that year. These are secondary round figures, not Chrysler production records, so treat any exact count as unverified.

One detail changes how the old stories read. Jalopnik describes the 350 V8 as optional, not standard, so a Fury without it is not automatically a fake.

Novel vs Film vs Real Car: Side-by-Side Table

Three different things share the name Christine: the car in the book, the cars in the movie and the factory Fury. The table keeps them apart, with each cell tied to the source that supports it.

Christine Car Myths Checked

Several claims about the car repeat across the web. Here is each one next to what the readable sources actually say.

The most useful myth to drop is the first one. Because the factory never built a red Fury, every red 1958 Plymouth you see at a show is a repaint, a tribute or a screen-style build. The color alone is no evidence of anything.

What Survives, and What Sources Say About Value

Petersen’s Muscle Two is the survivor with the clearest documentation. Jalopnik adds two more names: a car formerly on display at the Rochester Auto Museum, and a third that disappeared after being part of an MTV raffle. The same article says the Rochester car fetched $275,000 at a Saratoga Motorcar auction in 2020, and that Hagerty values a Concours-condition 1958 Fury at around $80,000.

Put side by side, those two numbers show how steep the screen-car premium is: $275,000 against $80,000 is about 3.4 times. It is not a like-for-like comparison, since one is a 2020 sale and the other a valuation quoted in February 2026, and the Hagerty page itself blocked automated access, so the $80,000 figure is relayed second-hand. For current prices, use live auction results and a classic-car valuation tool, not a figure from an article.

A practical takeaway follows from the sourced facts. The factory Fury was Buckskin Beige and a Belvedere sub-series, and the film itself leaned on Savoys and Belvederes, so a car built to look like Christine does not prove it is a Fury. Only paperwork can: ask for build documentation, and consider a marque club or independent appraiser before paying a movie-car premium. That advice is this page’s own, not from the sources.

Source Table: Who Said What, and When

Barrett-Jackson and Hagerty pages returned access-denied errors to automated reading, so no auction lot details from them are used.

Christine Model Cars for Display

The pick above is described in its listing as a GreenLight Collectibles Hollywood Series 1:24 diecast model, release 84222. Because the real 1958 Fury was Buckskin Beige, a red-and-white model is a film replica, not a factory-correct car. This page makes no licensing or accuracy claim beyond what the listing states.

Christine Car FAQ

What car was Christine?

A 1958 Plymouth Fury. Stephen King’s site describes the novel’s car as a haunted 1958 Plymouth Fury, and the Petersen Automotive Museum says the film follows a possessed Plymouth Fury.

What kind of car was Christine in the movie?

The Petersen Automotive Museum calls it a Plymouth Fury and says 24 Furys were acquired. Jalopnik says the film cars were mostly Savoys and Belvederes with a single Fury. The sources disagree on the mix.

Was the 1958 Plymouth Fury really red?

No. Petersen and Jalopnik both state the 1958 Fury was only available in Buckskin Beige with gold-anodized aluminum trim. The red paint belongs to the novel and film.

How many cars were used to film Christine?

Petersen says 24 Plymouth Furys were acquired for production, while Jalopnik says over 20 Savoys and Belvederes and a single Fury were used. No reliable exact count is available from the pages read.

Are any original Christine cars left?

Yes. Petersen displays its stunt car, Muscle Two, restored by its owner using parts from other Christines. Jalopnik says only three original film cars survived, including one that disappeared after an MTV raffle.

How much is a Christine car worth?

Jalopnik reports a 2020 auction sale of $275,000 for a screen car and quotes a Hagerty valuation of about $80,000 for a Concours 1958 Fury. Both are dated figures, so check live results before buying.

Christine works as a character because the car is both real and invented: a real Plymouth Fury model, a fictional color and a film fleet that sources describe in different ways. For more movie-car fact checks on this site, see the Back to the Future car explainer and the guide to Dom Toretto’s cars, or read how cars become pop-culture icons and the cultural significance of car movies.