Plymouth Barracuda

Released only 2 weeks before the Mustang, the stylish 2 door Barracuda coupe was really only a tidied up version of the Valiant 4 door sedan, however it did feature a dramatic fastback roofline incorporating a large wrap-around rear window.

Coupled with a huge range of options and, for the time, engine choices, the beautiful styling of the youthful coupe was unable to grab the attention of the buying public, besotted with the new Mustang.

And as a direct competitor, it failed to achieve even mediocre success being outsold on a ratio of approx. 10 Mustangs to 1 Barracuda.

To try to win back sales, Plymouth decided to make the Barracuda more a performance vehicle, and by the late 60's the top-of-the-range car was fitted with a 235bhp V8 coupled to heavy duty suspension and brakes.

But emission regulations of the 70's were soon to see a decrease in performance, and subsequent models became very bland in appearance as the designers obviously saw motor transportation as a means of getting from A to B rather than an exercise in style and grace.

It is perhaps because of this that the Barracuda models are today seen as unique and highly collectible.