1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda

The Story

If the muscle-car era had a king, the 1970 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda would wear the crown. Built on Plymouth's sleek new E-body platform, the 'Cuda was lower, wider, and far more aggressive than the Valiant-based Barracudas that came before it. The clean fuselage styling and short-deck proportions gave it a purposeful stance, and a long list of High Impact paint colors made it impossible to ignore. Drop in the mighty 426 Hemi and you had one of the most ferocious machines Detroit ever sold to the public.

The Hemi's hemispherical combustion chambers were race-bred technology, and the engine carried a conservative 425-horsepower rating that most observers believed was deliberately understated for insurance purposes. A Shaker hood scoop punched through the bonnet, mounted directly to the air cleaner so it visibly trembled with the engine. Motor Trend rocketed a 'Cuda to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds and through the quarter-mile in the low-14s — supercar numbers for 1970 that embarrassed cars costing far more.

Such power came at a price. The 426 Hemi added roughly $871 to the 'Cuda's $3,164 base sticker, a steep premium when buyers could choose a strong 340 or 383 for far less. Few were willing to pay it, so Plymouth built only 652 Hemi 'Cuda hardtops for 1970, plus a mere 14 convertibles — figures that make the drop-top one of the rarest American production cars of the entire decade.

That rarity, combined with brutal performance and unforgettable styling, has made the Hemi 'Cuda a blue-chip collectible. Hardtops now bring several hundred thousand dollars, and the legendary convertibles have changed hands for millions at the world's top auctions. For many enthusiasts, the 1970 Hemi 'Cuda is simply the most desirable American muscle car ever built — the definitive trophy of the horsepower wars. Its combination of fearsome power, vanishingly small production, and bold styling has elevated it from a fast street car of its day into a genuine cultural icon, and the sight of a Shaker hood trembling over that legendary Hemi still stops conversation at any car show in the country.