"Low-mileage" is a relative term when it comes to cars, but it's usually applied to vehicles whose odo readings are below the average number of miles driven per year. When it comes to classic cars, everything below 100,000 miles falls under the "low-mileage" tag. If the odo shows fewer than 30,000 miles, we usually call them "time capsules." But what do we call a 50-year old car with just 86 miles on the clock?
Sure, "brand-new" is a term that works here, but we need a different name for it. And the "it" I'm talking about is a 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda. With just 86 miles on the odo, this is the lowest mileage Cuda known to exist. And get this: it also comes with racing heritage. Let me explain.
Classics with extremely low miles usually have the same story. It's about an owner who drove it for a little while, put into storage, and a sibling restored it and put it on sale decades later. This Cuda, on the other hand, was purchased with the specific purpose to be raced at the drag strip and it was modified accordingly.
The car was delivered to a Bill Reardon in West Virginia, who immediately replaced most of the engine, the rear end, suspension, and rear tires with drag-spec performance parts. He went on to make about 30 quarter-mile passes at local drag strips in his first racing season, but passed away the following year.
Luckily, Reardon had kept all the original parts in safe storage. The modified car plus all the originals were sold in 1977 to Marvin Dillion, who returned it to its original specification. When that happened, the Cuda had 42 miles on the odo. Dillion kept the car for 16 years and drove it less than a single mile. This means that the car was driven for an additional 44 miles from 1993 to this day.
Quite the story, huh?
Although it's never been restored, the car is in pristine condition. The original Tor Red paint still shines, while the black vinyl interior is immaculate. Everything is numbers matching, including the 426 Hemi V8 engine.
The 7.0-liter Hemi needs no further introduction. It was Mopar's range-topping, race-spec engine back in the day, when it generated an impressive 425 horsepower. Hemi-powered Dodges and Plymouths are the most desirable Mopars from 1966 to 1971.
This phenomenal time capsule is going under the hammer via Sonicbidder's Sprint Cleaning auction on June 2, 2021. The Cuda was last seen at auction back in 2015, when it had 81 miles on the odo. It was estimated to fetch between $600,000 to $800,000. In 2020, it was listed for $1.2 million but apparently no one bought it.
Will it trade hands for more than $1 million at auction? It won't become the most expensive Cuda unless it sells for more than $3.5 million, but a $1 million+ sale would put it in the top 3 and would make it the priciest Cuda with a hard-top. I guess we'll just have to wait and find out.
But no matter the result, it's definitely worthy of its window stickers: "The Lowest Mileage Hemi 'Cuda on the planet. Period."
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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