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Plymouth Barracuda: Fighting Fish With a Hemi Heart
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Super Models
By MarkOastler - 03 October 2025
First Generation (1964-1966)
By the early 1960s, Ford was developing a new sporty compact called Mustang based on the chassis and mechanicals of its Falcon economy car, which after its launch in 1960 had far exceeded sales of GMs rear-engine Chevrolet Corvair .
Ford had rightly concluded that a restyled version of the Falcon, with an exceptionally attractive persona and unexpectedly low price, would not only crush the Corvair but also top Falcon sales in exploiting a new youth-driven market.
The Falcon had considerable influence in the Mustangs design, not only in the closeness of their key dimensions but also in sharing as many chassis and drivetrain components as possible to amortise production costs.
The original Barracuda adapted two-door Valiant sedan panels and underpinnings to a uniquely styled roof, boot-lid and rear window. It also had a bespoke grille design and other cosmetic changes but its humble Valiant family car heritage was obvious. Image: Stellantis
Plymouth saw potential in this burgeoning sporty compact market by following a similar strategy to Ford, based on the compact Plymouth/Dodge A-body chassis and mechanicals of its humble Valiant economy car.
Former stylist John Samsen, who was heavily involved in the Barracuda program, credits colleague Irv Ritchie for creating the initial concept and proving it could be both stylish and practical.
Ritchie began to sketch fastback versions of the Valiant and made a full-size drawing of the roofline and rear end over a seating drawing, to prove the design was practical. Styling execs were interested in the idea and persuaded corporate officers to allow a design study on a full-size clay model, Samsen told Car Design.
No wonder its widely known as a glassback rather than a fastback! Retaining a chrome Valiant script on the tail and matching V emblem above the boot-lid did not help the original Barracuda in establishing a standalone identity like the Mustang. Image: Stellantis
Ritchie and I were assigned to do design concept sketches of a fastback Valiant. I liked reverse-slant C-pillars and large backlites, so that is what I presented. I was happy when I was chosen to direct clay modelling of my design. Im sure Ritchie was disappointed that he did not get to direct the clay work, but he was always given credit for the initial concept.
Engineering demanded large external hinges for the little trunk (boot), so I designed the wide chrome band on the top of the deck lid (boot-lid) to disguise the hinges. I was not happy with this as I preferred less chrome on cars. Most of the execs liked the cars design and decided to put it into production.
The Plymouth Division people came up with the name Panda for the car, and when we designers made a fuss, told us to suggest names. My list of names included Barracuda and it was chosen.
Plymouth marketing always depicted long and slender items like surfboards, skis etc being loaded from the rear, given the obvious height restriction of its conventional boot-lid. The 1965 Renault 16s innovative hatchback design would have provided unrestricted access - although lifting the Barracudas huge rear glass may have required considerable effort! Image: Stellantis
However, the result appeared to be little more than a fastback Valiant, as the Barracuda shared its sedan siblings 106-inch (2692mm) wheelbase and much of its bodywork to minimise costs.
This panel-sharing arrangement no doubt cost Barracuda sales, given that to many potential buyers it looked like a less practical version of Plymouths frugal family transport, compared to the Mustang with a stunning European-style silhouette that didnt share one external panel with the Falcon on which it was based.
The Barracudas most prominent styling feature was its huge sloping rear window, which spanned more than 1.3 square metres. Underneath was a rear passenger seat that could fold flat to create a long luggage area, but unlike a hatchback this space could only be accessed from the rear through a traditional boot-lid, which restricted the height of loads that could be carried in it.
Samsen: Pittsburg Plate Glass Company (PPG) was chosen to make the glass backlite. It was the largest piece of glass used on a car, and they had a lot of trouble with it. They were unable to hold the shape designed on the model, and production backlites had a bubble shape that bothered me a lot. Later they improved the shape, but never matched the design shape. The shape in the ads and brochures was touched-up to look better.
(Left) Barracuda competed in the inaugural US Trans-Am road racing series in 1966 and finished runner-up to Mustang in the Over 2.0-litre division. Plymouth returned to the Trans-Am in 1970 but success eluded the E-body AAR Cudas and ensured the end of factory support. (Right) Arguably the most famous Barracuda was the original Hemi Under Glass drag-racing exhibition car built by Hurst Performance in 1965. Powered by a rear-mounted 426 Hemi V8 showcased by its vast rear window (hence the name), its rearward weight transfer at launch would send the front wheels skywards for the length of the strip! Image: www.racingarchives.org Image: Stellantis
The Barracuda was launched two weeks before the Mustang on the inauspicious date of April 1, 1964 but Plymouth was not fooling around. Its sharp USD$2,512 ($25,000 today) starting price, choice of six and V8 engines plus an optional auto transmission mirrored the Mustang.
The new Barracuda came standard with a 170cid slant six but buyers could option either the larger 225cid version (like Australian Valiants) or Chrysler Corps new light and compact 273cid (4.5-litre) LA series small-block V8 with two-barrel carb and 180bhp (130kW).
For 1965 the smallest six was dropped and the 273 V8 was offered in new Commando specification with a four-barrel carb, 10:5:1 compression and solid camshaft boosting output to 235bhp (175kW).
Plymouth also launched the Formula S option which matched the Commando V8 with a special handling package, tacho and unique body emblems.
1966 Barracuda with the Formula S performance option looked good in Citron Gold metallic with black interior and racing stripe. Note the better-late-than-never Barracuda fish grille-emblem and bold egg-crate mesh design introduced that year. Image: Stellantis
1966 brought redesigned taillights plus new frontal styling. However, apart from minor changes to the grille, this sheet-metal was again shared with the Valiant which again reminded buyers of the cheap family car on which the Barracuda was based.
By contrast, the Valiant chrome script on the base of the boot-lid was gone and the stylised V logo in its decorative hinge-strip was replaced by a unique emblem displaying a stylised Barracuda fish on a nautical blue background, which in hindsight should have been there from the start.
The fish ornament was designed by Milt Antonik and was a hit with everyone! claimed Samsen. Everyone except the customers, it seems. During its first three years in production, Plymouth sold 125,858 first-gen Barracudas. By comparison, Ford sold more than one million Mustangs!
1967 Barracuda heralded new styling which shared no external panels with the Valiant on which it was based, along with fish logos on the bonnet, boot and front fenders. The finer egg-crat…

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