Plymouth completely redesigned the Barracuda for 1970, giving it its own platform separate from the Valiant for the first time. The result was a car that looked like it had been shaped by rage and refined by art. Lower, wider, and more aggressive than its predecessor, the third-generation Barracuda — especially in convertible form with a Hemi under the hood — is now one of the most valuable muscle cars ever built.

Chrysler's High Impact colors were the exclamation point. While Ford and GM offered their muscle cars in respectable blues and reds, Plymouth painted Barracudas in Moulin Rouge pink, Curious Yellow, Sassy Grass Green, and a purple called In-Violet. These were not subtle cars. They were not trying to blend in. They were trying to be remembered.

The Barracuda's Arsenal

  • Available with the legendary 426 Hemi — 425 horsepower of barely street-legal fury
  • The 440 Six Pack featured three two-barrel carburetors and 390 horsepower
  • Shaker hood scoop vibrated with the engine, visible from the driver's seat
  • High Impact colors: Lime Light, In-Violet, Vitamin C, Moulin Rouge, Curious Yellow
  • The AAR 'Cuda — designed for Trans-Am racing — featured side exhaust and a fiberglass hood

The 'Cuda — the performance version of the Barracuda — was the car you ordered when the 340 and 383 engines were not enough. The 'Cuda package required one of the big engines: the 440 four-barrel, the 440 Six Pack, or the 426 Hemi. It was Chrysler's way of saying: if you check this box, we assume you know what you are doing. Many buyers did not, and the resulting insurance claims became part of the era's folklore.

Rarity and Value

  1. Total 1970 Barracuda production: 48,764 — modest by muscle car standards
  2. Hemi 'Cuda hardtops: just 652 built — extremely rare
  3. Hemi 'Cuda convertibles: only 14 built — among the rarest American cars
  4. A 1970 Hemi 'Cuda convertible sold at auction for $3.5 million in 2014
  5. Even a standard 318 V8 1970 Barracuda now commands $35,000-$50,000
Plymouth built 14 Hemi Cuda convertibles in 1970. Fourteen. If muscle cars are American royalty, the Hemi Cuda convertible is the crown.

The tragedy of the Barracuda is timing. It arrived fully redesigned and magnificent in 1970, just as insurance companies raised muscle car premiums to punitive levels and emissions regulations began strangling horsepower. The car had two great years — 1970 and 1971 — before the era ended and took the Barracuda with it. It was a shooting star: brilliant, brief, and unforgettable.