In the current battlefield of modern-day muscle cars, the salvos seem to be never-ending. GM’s Corvette has always been the cutting edge of the company’s performance research and development, providing the Camaros of yesterday and even today a great parts bin to glean go-fast goodies from. Without a supercar like the Corvette in Ford’s lineup, the Mustang has proven itself an apt platform to trial-test some seriously successful engineering.
Unfortunately, without the Viper, Chrysler is left without that spearhead-type of vehicle. Even when the venomous snake was around, not much was shared between the supercar and the regular street machines, leaving the Charger and Challenger the sole provider of the company’s performance. But as the Charger and Challenger struggle to find their place amid the BOSS 302 Mustangs and ZL1 Camaros, there are some that ask, “Hey, doesn’t anybody remember Plymouth?”
After a long drought, Dodge released the new Challenger in 2008. Some will agree that this is the best retro-designed muscle car today. So what ever happened to the Challengers counterpart, the Barracuda? Ever since 1974, the ‘Cuda has been extinct, waiting for someone to pick up the design and create a new model.
We ran into a story over at AMCarguide where a new generation Barracuda slipped through the cracks or just didn’t get much exposure. Metalcrafters, who are the very same who hand-built the original prototype Dodge Challenger, created their own Barracuda concept car.
The ‘Cuda was build way back in 2008, based off of a ’07 Dodge Charger. And since the original ‘Cuda had a shorter wheelbase than the original Challenger, so does this one. Much of the Challenger was reused in this project including the chassis, interior, and engine. In addition, Metalcrafters fabricated a Shaker hood integrated into the hood, custom exhaust, and covered it a nice pearl orange paint job.
They named the project “B.B.P.” for “Bring Back Plymouth.” After the car was finished, the executives over at Dodge got their hands on the car and took it to the SEMA show in 2007. After SEMA, the car was taken to Barrett Jackson and auctioned it off for $159,500.