Moulin Rouge 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda Is a Pink Sleeper With a Nasty Surprise Under the Hood

But it's not just the 426-equipped cars that are hard to find nowadays. The 440-powered 'Cudas are also scarce, with only 3,000 sold in 1970 and 1971. At the other end of the performance specter, we have the entry-level Barracuda with the 198-cubic-inch slant-six. Plymouth sold only 461 in 1970 and just 96 in 1971. But no one cares about non-V8 cars, so I won't bug you with these six-cylinder ponies.

Engines aside, there are several options that make a 'Cuda rare. Color is one of them. Plymouth offered more than 25 colors on the Barracuda at the time. And while some were super popular, others weren't favored by muscle car enthusiasts. Moulin Rouge (or Panther Pink on Dodges) is among the rarest hues.

Part of the High Impact color palette under code FM3, Moulin Rouge was introduced in 1970, likely as a way to attract female buyers to the brand. But the color was only available for only a few months. Short-lived and quickly dismissed by customers, the pink hue found its way on only 0.5% of the Barracudas sold that year.

Plymouth delivered 48,867 examples in the US, so we're looking at around 244 vehicles. And given that many were repainted by second owners, 1970 Barracudas in Moulin Rouge are a rare sight today. The wonderfully restored hardtop you see here is one of those cars.

Spotted at the 2023 Mopar with Big Daddy show, this pink 'Cuda is actually much rarer than its unloved color suggests. That's because it left the factory with a 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) big-block V8 of the Six-Pack variety and a four-speed manual. This makes it one of 919 'Cudas built with this drivetrain combo.

There are no official records on how many Six-Pack rigs were ordered in Moulin Rouge, but if we apply the generally accepted 0.5% rate, we end up with less than five cars. Granted, it's not the most accurate way to establish rarity, but it can't be too far off. Regardless of whether it's five, ten, 20, or even 100 units, this Moulin Rouge 440-6 is a rare gem.

This 'Cuda is not all-original and unmolested, though. The already massive 440-6 was stroked to 500 cubic inches (8.2 liters) and rebuilt with higher-performance parts. It now cranks out 540 horsepower and 600 pound-feet (813 Nm) of torque, which makes it notably more potent than a 1970 HEMI version, rated at 425 horses. The owner also opted to replace the original gearbox with a five-speed manual.

All told this pink 'Cuda is a full-fledged sleeper that could smoke any Mopar from the early 1970s. All while still looking perfectly stock. And before you criticize the owner for not keeping this prized classic all original, you should know that she's had it since 1984. That's almost 40 years of ownership, which speaks volumes of her love for the bright pink muscle car.

I'd also prefer an all-original drivetrain layout, but I'm pretty sure this thing is much nicer to drive in its current form. And having 500 horsepower to play with in a so-called girly color is arousing, to say the least. Check it out in the video below.