PLYMOUTH

Barracuda

The Plymouth Barracuda arrived in showrooms on 1 April 1964, just two weeks ahead of the Ford Mustang, giving Plymouth a claim to having launched the pony-car class first. The first-generation Plymouth Barracuda was based on the compact A-body Valiant and was instantly recognisable for its enormous wraparound rear glass, the largest piece of automotive glass fitted to a production car at the time. This early fastback Plymouth Barracuda ran from 1964 to 1966 and could be ordered with the spirited Commando V8 and the Formula S handling package. A restyled second-generation Plymouth Barracuda followed for 1967 to 1969, breaking away from the Valiant's sheet metal and offering fastback, notchback and convertible body styles, along with bigger V8 options that finally gave the car genuine muscle credentials. The legend, however, was cemented by the third-generation Plymouth Barracuda of 1970 to 1974, built on the all-new E-body platform shared with the Dodge Challenger. This wider, more aggressive Plymouth Barracuda could be equipped with Chrysler's most fearsome engines, culminating in the iconic Hemi 'Cuda powered by the 426 cubic-inch Hemi V8, of which only a few hundred were ever built. Rising insurance costs, tightening emissions rules and the 1973 oil crisis brought the Plymouth Barracuda to an end exactly ten years after it began, on 1 April 1974. Today the muscle-era Plymouth Barracuda, and the Hemi 'Cuda in particular, ranks among the most valuable and sought-after American collector cars in the world.