Perfectly Restored 1970 Plymouth Duster in Moulin Rouge Is Pure Eye Candy, Rare Too

The Belvedere is an obvious choice. And if it's too common for you, there's the slightly fancier Satellite. But if you're after a diamond in the rough, the Duster is your best bet. Sure, it's smaller and wasn't available with Chrysler's cool big-block V8 engines, but that's precisely what makes it special.

A compact-sized rig, the Duster was introduced for the 1969 model year as a sportier, two-door coupe version of the Valiant. It shared underpinnings with the Dodge Dart, which spawned a similar version with a "Swinger" badge.

Plymouth sold the Duster with a variety of inline-six and small-block V8 engines. The largest mill, a 360-cubic-inch (5.9-liter) LA, was introduced in 1974. Until then, the smaller and more iconic 340-cubic-inch (5.6-liter) V8 topped the range.

And while this unit was quite small compared to the iconic 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) RB and 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI, it turned the Duster into a giant-slaying mini muscle car. With an underrated 275 horsepower to the rear wheels, the Duster 340 could run the quarter-mile in the 13-second range, quicker than muscle cars like the Ford Torino, Chevrolet Chevelle, and Pontiac GTO.

But why am I talking about a compact vehicle that doesn't get much attention nowadays? Well, this Moulin Rouge example spotted by YouTube's "Corner Classic Car Hunter" is one of the most eye-catching classic Mopars I've seen in a very long time.

Caught on camera at an auction event, this 1970 Duster 340 is as spotless as they get. The result of a professional, nut-and-bolt restoration, it's not only a flawless rig, but it also flaunts a rare color combo.

For starters, it's dressed in Moulin Rouge, one of the flashiest hues from Chrysler's iconic High-Impact color palette. Called Panther Pink on Dodge products, it was only available for a few months during the 1970 model year. And in addition to being a short-lived option, it wasn't very popular either.

There's no official data on how many Duster 340s were painted Moulin Rouge in 1970, but most sources claim only 1% of the total production left the factory in FM3. Given that Plymouth produced 24,817 Dusters of the 340 variety, we're looking at fewer than 250 units. And needless to say, fewer than 100 are still around since many were repainted or abandoned into junkyards.

Second, this Duster also features a white vinyl top, a far scarcer option than the black roof. The white interior isn't very common either, especially on a pink car. Granted, it may not be the most stylish combo out there, but it makes this Duster stand out among other muscle cars from the era.

But I should also mention I'm a fan of Chrysler's FM3 Moulin Rouge/Panther Pink paint. And I'd take it over Plum Crazy or HEMI Orange any day of the week. Check out this piece of striped candy on wheels in the video below.