426 Hemi Cuda

The Hemi Cuda ( my classic car someday ) was was proclaimed as one of the most powerful machines of the muscle car era. Standard on the Hemi Cuda was a shaker fully functional air scoop. Sheathed in the aerodynamic Plymouth® Barracuda body, and powered by the famous Mopar® 426 Hemi, the Hemi Cuda was one of the most potent “pony” cars ever built.( I always wanted to be able to say a Hemi Cuda was my classic car but as of yet I can’t say that).

Plymouth Baracuda was a two-door compact/midsize car manufactured by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation from 1964 through 1974. Convertible production numbers approach those of some classic European sports cars, with 14 droptop Hemi ’Cudas built in 1970 and only seven in 1971. Back then it was the greatest expression of Muscle Car Detroit ever built. Out of all the body styles in which it was available from 1966-71, it was in the big-engine-in-a-small-car E-Bodies that the 426 was put to its best use. These classic long-hood, short-deck pony cars were turned into monster street machines when fitted with the Hemi V8, and today their popularity among collectors has driven prices into orbit. Next to Hemi, for the 1970 Barracuda were offered: the 440 Magnum (375 hp with a single four-barrel carb), and the Hemi-challenging 440 Six Pack, with three two-barrel carburetors (390 gross hp and a stunning 480 lb-ft of torque at a very low 2,300 rpm). Today the rarity of these cars with Hemi engines and collector interest in them has commanded incredible price appreciation with private sales reportedly occurring at over a million dollars.

The model last only until the 1971 model, in both coupe and convertible versions. The relatively high cost of the Hemi engine option, nearly a third of the base model cost, meant low production numbers. An interesting way to visually tell the difference in all 3 years were the side marker lights: the 1967 Barracuda had no side marker lights at all, the 1968 model had small circular ones and the 1969 model had much larger rectangular ones.

It also had a Dodge twin known as the Challenger; however, not one exterior body panel interchanged between the two cars. But like other pony cars of the time, these years showed a major decrease in the Barracuda’s power due to stricter emission laws. Today the rarity of these cars with Hemi engines and collector interest in them has commanded incredible price appreciation with private sales reportedly occurring at over a million dollars.

Hemi ’Cuda production was limited: 652 coupes were built in 1970, dropping to just 108 in 1971. Hemi-powered Mopars weren’t revered works of art selling for hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars, as they are today. Hemi Cuda the car is fast, flashy, sexual, with a helluva pickup and an exhaust kick that assaults the senses like a shotgun blast.

The 1970 Baracuda was built on a new, slightly shorter, wider, and sportier version of Chrysler’s existing B platform, the E-body. The HemiCuda had about a factory rating of 6 MPG, and was sold without warranty. The list of options made available for 1970 ’Cuda included: rallye wheels, a range of exciting colors sich as Plum Crazy, pistol grip shifters, hockey stick sport stripes, hood pins and a variety of creature comforts. The aggressive sound of Hemi combined with visual street cred and Barrett-Jackson publicity now make these Cudas more expensive than most Ferraris produced in the same era.

All good things come to an end, and the Hemi Cuda was certainly a Good Thing while it lasted. The Hemi Cuda was, bar none, the fastest freakin’ production street legal machine I ever saw. Who knows some day you will be able to say this is My Classic Car.

Here are 4 Burnout Videos

Cuda Burnout