Restored 1970 Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Asks $2.6 Million, Is This Investment Car Worth it?

Twenty-one examples of the emblematic Plymouth Barracuda came simultaneously with the Street Hemi V8 and without a solid roof. For any gearhead, the phrase ‘convertible Hemi ‘Cuda’ means several milestones at once. It was a two-year production run (1970-1971) – after that year, the second generation of the mighty hemispherical-heads eight-cylinder motor was canceled forever.

While there had been a convertible Barracuda before it (between 1967 and 1969), the big-block elephant motor was too big for that platform. That’s exactly why Chrysler simply invented a new E-body framework that could accommodate every single engine in the Mopar lineup.

The first two generations of the Plymouth Barracuda were built on the small A-body platform as the Valiant, and the biggest engine that could decently fit in the bay was the 383V8 (6.3-liter). In 1969, the 440 Super Commando was shoehorned in the car, but the 7.2-liter behemoth proved quite the burden for the car's front end.

In 1970, the reinvented Barracuda came around, and it looked like a whole new car (entirely because it was a fresh design from the ground up). With it came the big news: 426 cubic inches of fun (seven liters) thundering 425 horsepower and 490 lb-ft of torque (431 PS and 664 Nm). Only 666 were built with the Hemi titan, and just 14 of those had a canvas over the passenger bay.

Five were ordered with a four-speed manual transmission; the remaining nine came with the Torqueflite automatic. The breakdown goes on: of the said fourteen, three were sent north of the border in Canada. Frankly, if we were to start looking for the proverbial needle in the Mopar haystack, the Plymouth hemicuda convertible could very well be it.

The remaining seven ragtop examples were assembled in 1971, making them the most sought-after by car collectors. Those assembled for the 1970 model year are not far behind, fetching millions of dollars at auctions and sometimes failing to sell for prices north of two million. See the gallery for the quintessential example: a 1970 yellow Plymouth Barracuda with a 426 Hemi and a retractable top.

Back in the 1970s, Mother Mopar had a few colors that it called High Impact (Plymouth) or High Performance (Dodge), and Lemon Twist (Top Banana) was one of them. That’s exactly what this rare bird of a fish pony car boasts. Not original, but identical—the vehicle has been through a rotisserie restoration at some point.

Following the complete overhaul, it became a solid investment and began changing hands – or, at least, making star appearances at various motoring events. In 2019, at Indianapolis, it sold for 1.98 million bucks. Three years later, in 2022, the high bid of 2.1 million didn’t convince the owner to let the car go. However, this past January, it was auctioned off for 1.95 million.

You guessed it by now – it’s going under the hammer yet again in Monterey between August 15 and 17 this year (the auction day has not been set yet). The selling dealership also has the vehicle listed on their own website, with a price of $2,575,000.

If the late summer event sees the car sell for over two million, it will be a new record for the class of 1970 Hemi ‘Cudas. The all-time highwater mark, however, belongs to a one-in-two 1971 Hemi four-speed drop-top, which broke the bank at $3.5 million ten years ago in Seattle.

The desirable Mopar has bulletproof documentation regarding its history, ownership, and renovation work. The mileage reads 26,325—check the dealership website for a comparison between what's there and what the Mecum’s page for it shows. Needless to say, it does brag an all-numbers-matching condition for the pile of money it asks.