Photo: moparrevival/eBay
Introduced in 1964 as America's first pony car (it arrived two weeks before the Ford Mustang), the Plymouth Barracuda morphed into a full-fledged muscle car toward the end of the decade.
Plymouth completed the transformation in 1969 by moving the car on the then-new E-body platform and giving it a more aggressive design. The car's mean stance was backed by a revised engine lineup that included Chrysler range-topping V8 mills.
Previously only available with the 383-cubic-inch (6.3-liter) big-block except for a couple of limited-edition models, the Barracuda got the 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) RB and the 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI on the options list. Both versions are obviously rare and highly sought-after nowadays.
The third-gen version was also the first Barracuda that hit the race track with factory support. And I'm not talking about straight-line racing of the quarter-mile variety. Nope, Chrysler decided to give Chevrolet and Ford a run for their money on the SCCA Trans-Am series. While Dodge created the Challenger T/A, Plymouth developed the AAR 'Cuda.
Short for All American Racers, a team founded by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby, the AAR was Plymouth's response to the Camaro Z/28 and Mustang Boss 302. Just like its competitors, the AAR got a small-block V8 under the hood. However, the 340-cubic-inch (5.2-liter) mill featured a few notable upgrades over the regular production version.
For starters, it relied on a trio of two-barrel carburetors, a configuration inspired by the 440 Six Pack. Second, a series of race-honed upgrades gave the engine a 290-horsepower rating, 15 more than the regular 340.
Granted, it was nowhere near as powerful as the big-block Barracudas, but the AAR was notably lighter thanks to a fiberglass hood, needing only 14.4 seconds to cover the quarter-mile. In addition, it was more agile on race courses.
Unfortunately, the AAR 'Cuda wasn't nimble enough to win races in the Trans-Am series. With just one podium in 11 events, Plymouth finished last in the manufacturers' standings, behind Ford, AMC, Chevrolet, and Dodge.
But while the company's SSCA venture wasn't successful, the campaign spawned the road-legal AAR 'Cuda. Built for homologation purposes, it arrived in showrooms with nearly all the goodies fitted in the race car. And because Plymouth made only 2,724 examples, the AAR is now a desirable classic, much more so since not all survived to see 2023.
The green example you see here is one of the lucky ones. Not only did it keep its numbers-matching 340 Six Pack for more than five decades, but it also got a rotisserie restoration that turned it into a museum-grade piece. On the flip side, the project remained unfinished, and the muscle car needs assembly.
The current owner is not interested in putting it back together, so the AAR 'Cuda is for sale as is. And it's also a bit of a celebrity vehicle because it was featured on the iconic TV show Graveyard Carz.
But don't let the fact that this Mopar is an unboxed puzzle fool you. The car is getting a lot of attention, and bidding has already reached more than $60,000. And that's still short of the seller's reserve.
How much is a Concours-ready AAR 'Cuda worth nowadays? Well, they tend to fetch more than $100,000 when equipped with the original V8. Unrestored survivors are much more expensive, though. An unmolested and all-original Moulin Rouge example sold for a whopping $308,000 in January 2023. How much do you think this one is worth?
Previously only available with the 383-cubic-inch (6.3-liter) big-block except for a couple of limited-edition models, the Barracuda got the 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) RB and the 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI on the options list. Both versions are obviously rare and highly sought-after nowadays.
The third-gen version was also the first Barracuda that hit the race track with factory support. And I'm not talking about straight-line racing of the quarter-mile variety. Nope, Chrysler decided to give Chevrolet and Ford a run for their money on the SCCA Trans-Am series. While Dodge created the Challenger T/A, Plymouth developed the AAR 'Cuda.
Short for All American Racers, a team founded by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby, the AAR was Plymouth's response to the Camaro Z/28 and Mustang Boss 302. Just like its competitors, the AAR got a small-block V8 under the hood. However, the 340-cubic-inch (5.2-liter) mill featured a few notable upgrades over the regular production version.
For starters, it relied on a trio of two-barrel carburetors, a configuration inspired by the 440 Six Pack. Second, a series of race-honed upgrades gave the engine a 290-horsepower rating, 15 more than the regular 340.
Granted, it was nowhere near as powerful as the big-block Barracudas, but the AAR was notably lighter thanks to a fiberglass hood, needing only 14.4 seconds to cover the quarter-mile. In addition, it was more agile on race courses.
Unfortunately, the AAR 'Cuda wasn't nimble enough to win races in the Trans-Am series. With just one podium in 11 events, Plymouth finished last in the manufacturers' standings, behind Ford, AMC, Chevrolet, and Dodge.
But while the company's SSCA venture wasn't successful, the campaign spawned the road-legal AAR 'Cuda. Built for homologation purposes, it arrived in showrooms with nearly all the goodies fitted in the race car. And because Plymouth made only 2,724 examples, the AAR is now a desirable classic, much more so since not all survived to see 2023.
The green example you see here is one of the lucky ones. Not only did it keep its numbers-matching 340 Six Pack for more than five decades, but it also got a rotisserie restoration that turned it into a museum-grade piece. On the flip side, the project remained unfinished, and the muscle car needs assembly.
The current owner is not interested in putting it back together, so the AAR 'Cuda is for sale as is. And it's also a bit of a celebrity vehicle because it was featured on the iconic TV show Graveyard Carz.
But don't let the fact that this Mopar is an unboxed puzzle fool you. The car is getting a lot of attention, and bidding has already reached more than $60,000. And that's still short of the seller's reserve.
How much is a Concours-ready AAR 'Cuda worth nowadays? Well, they tend to fetch more than $100,000 when equipped with the original V8. Unrestored survivors are much more expensive, though. An unmolested and all-original Moulin Rouge example sold for a whopping $308,000 in January 2023. How much do you think this one is worth?
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