Only 4-Door Barracuda Ever Made Is For Sale
It may not be pretty, and it may not be as Chrysler Corporation would have done it, but nonetheless, this is the only four-door Plymouth Barracuda sedan in existence. It was created back in 2016 by a company as a “what if.” What if Plymouth built a four-door version of its Barracuda muscle car? Now, you can own it.
Is this Barracuda sedan a factory prototype?
Created by Dave Walden of ESC Automotive Concepts, there was no customer or company behind the idea. He just wanted to see what it might have looked like. Most of us would have hired an artist or designer and been happy with a depiction hanging on our wall, but that wouldn’t do for Walden.
Most projects like this start out seeing extensive modifications on a par with custom show cars. But not this ‘Cuda. Other than what was needed to convert it into a four-door, everything else was kept strictly stock. The idea was a freshly-built ‘Cuda just off the assembly line.
Did Plymouth ever make a four-door Barracuda?
Supposedly, Chrysler actually made one in this same color. A former Chrysler employee even wrote about seeing it at Plymouth’s Highland Park facilities. There was also mention of the upcoming Barracuda being both a two- and four-door in a forecast section of a 1969 Mechanix Illustrated. And we know Ford built at least one concept of an early four-door Mustang.
So Walden dove into the project, which debuted at the 2016 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Most sedans and coupes share the same chassis, which means the same wheelbase. Walden thought that would have looked wrong, so to maintain the top’s profile, he lengthened the chassis a few inches.
How does this Barracuda sedan differ from a stock one?
The back of the car tapers less in the rear to tie everything together visually. That means about 1 ½-inches were added. The top is taller than stock as well. This is so the top profile can still taper down and back and still have some headroom left.
The proportions get a little weird, and we would have tried some different tweaks to rectify those points, but overall it is fairly close to what you might have seen had Chrysler actually tried producing these. Continuing the sedan theme inside, a bench seat with a fold-down armrest, tilt and telescopic steering column, and in-dash clock were also added. Even the glass has the correct date codes.
Under the hood is a pedestrian 340 ci four-barrel V8 engine. It’s hooked to a production three-speed automatic transmission. Just what you would expect for a sporty muscle car sedan of the era.
After the build, there was more
But Walden didn’t stop after the physical build was completed. He created a fake broadcast sheet, a window sticker, and even an invoice. And he also got a legit VIN ending in 1000000, titled a “Plymouth 4-Door Barracuda.”
Since then, it has only made several appearances after SEMA. Since then, it has been kept under wraps. Now, it is consigned for the January 2023 Mecum auction in Kissimmee, Florida. It is part of the Wing Car and Mopar Collection event. So here’s your opportunity to not only have a one-off but to finally see it shared with other Mopar enthusiasts.