Lucas Bell 
When it comes to the upper echelon of American muscle cars, the Plymouth Hemi Barracuda is undeniably the holy grail. The recipe behind the ‘Cuda was rather simple: take the small E-body platform and stuff Mopar’s most potent engine, the 426 cubic-inch Hemi V8, under the hood. The resulting car had the performance to back up its near perfect muscle car styling, but the Hemi ‘Cuda never enjoyed the sales success of the Mustang or Camaro. As a result, very few third generation Hemi ‘Cudas survive today, making them incredibly valuable. Such as this 1970 model currently offered for sale by DuPont Registry.
With a list price of $1.2 million, it is clear that we aren’t dealing with just a normal muscle car here. This 1970 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda is one of the last ten built during that year, and it is a well optioned car. It might also help that this is the lowest mileage example of a Hemi ‘Cuda around, showing just 86 original miles on the odometer. How someone could resist driving this car more than that over the last 50 years is a true testament to self control.
Under the beautiful Tor Red painted hood sits the original matching numbers drivetrain, composed of the legendary 426 Hemi V8 with dual 4-barrel carburetors mated to the Mopar 727 automatic transmission. The engine was good for 425 horsepower back in 1970, which remains a stout figure to this day. The buyer of this car will get to see that V8 bucking under acceleration thanks to the shaker hood, featuring a stylish Argent painted scoop. And who can ignore those genuine hood pins up front. Inside you’ll find vinyl bucket seats and an oh-so-70s woodgrain console
While $1.2 million is certainly a lot for a muscle car, it can still be considered a bargain for a vehicle of this pedigree. It wasn’t too long ago that a manual 1971 Hemi ‘Cuda convertible, one of only 14, sold for $3.5 million at auction. This then is a steal, should you be okay with an old slushbox handling the gear changes.
