Plymouth Barracuda
It's from 1970, before you were born.
- Iconic generation
- 1970 Hemi 'Cuda (third-gen E-body)
- Origin
- Detroit, Michigan, USA
- Engine
- 426 cu in (7.0L) Hemi V8 (optional)
- Power
- 425 hp (gross), underrated
- 0–60 mph
- ~5.6 seconds (Hemi)
- Top speed
- ~125 mph
- Production
- Only 666 Hemi 'Cudas in 1970; just 14 convertibles
- Price when new
- ~$3,400 base; Hemi added ~$870
About
As of 2026, it's 56 years old.
The Barracuda's early life was a little awkward, a fish-named Valiant with a giant wraparound rear window that actually beat the Mustang to showrooms by a couple of weeks in 1964, then got completely buried by it. For most of the 1960s it was the muscle car everyone forgot. Then 1970 happened.
The third-gen E-body 'Cuda ditched its economy-car roots and became one of the most coveted muscle cars ever made. Stuffed with the 426 Hemi making an underrated 425 hp, dressed in shaker hoods and 'billboard' side graphics, painted in colors like Vitamin C Orange and Plum Crazy, it was muscle-car excess distilled to its loudest, brightest form.
Here's the catch that makes collectors weep: Plymouth built only 666 Hemi 'Cudas in 1970, and just 14 of those were convertibles. That scarcity has made the 1971 Hemi 'Cuda convertible the most valuable muscle car on Earth, with examples trading for millions of dollars.
Like all its E-body siblings, the 'Cuda didn't survive the muscle-car apocalypse, dying off after 1974. But its short, glorious peak left behind a legend wildly out of proportion to how few were built, proof that in the muscle world, rarity plus a Hemi equals immortality.
Plymouth Barracuda through the years
First to the party
The original Barracuda beats the Mustang to market by two weeks, then gets eclipsed.
Second-gen glow-up
A proper restyle frees the Barracuda from its Valiant economy-car looks.
The 'Cuda arrives
The E-body 'Cuda becomes a Hemi-powered, billboard-striped muscle icon.
Hemi rarity
Just 666 Hemi 'Cudas are built, only 14 of them convertibles.
Curtain call
The Barracuda is discontinued as the muscle era ends.
