Today we have yet another ridiculously priced classic musclecar as part of our week-long Mecum Mopar Madness coverage. Today’s rare Mopar is none other than the infamous 1970 Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible (Lot F109) and it’s expected to see between 2.7 and 3.5 million bucks. The insanity is that the difference between the two figures is more than an entire car collection for some people.

So what makes this Lemon Twist (Code FY1) drop top so expensive and rare? For starters, the Hemi ‘Cuda convertible was a very limited run to begin with, spanning only two years and barely breaching the two digit range for production with about 25 altogether, that should give you some insight as to why they cost so much. This car is one of five built with the four-speed manual transmission, and still retains the numbers-matching 426 Hemi under the hood, and has just 27,500 miles on the odometer.

As with many other high-dollar Mopars of this generation, desirable options include the A34 Super Track Pak with the Dana 60 and SureGrip rearend, and that shaker hood that looks oh-so-right on a big Hemi. The power top and a host of interior options, including the A04 Radio Group with the Music Master AM radio, make this a bit of a nice ride that would have been great for cruising. The Rallye instrument cluster with factory Tachometer, and the Hurst Pistol Grip shifter, however, show that his dual quad elephant means business.

And get this: the car was originally purchased as a graduation present for a man’s daughter. Can you imagine graduating from high school and your dad hands you the keys to a Lemon Twist Hemi ‘Cuda convertible? Don’t you think if that was your graduation present that you would have put far more than 27,000 miles on it in the first couple years alone? Do you think she would have ever imagined that her gift would one day be a Concours d’Elegance class winner worth more than $2.5 million? Well, when the hammer fell today, the final bid was a cool, $2,675,000, just a tad shy of the low estimate.