The Dodge Barracuda was a line of muscle cars produced by Dodge from 1964 to 1974. It was the Plymouth equivalent of the Ford Mustang and was known for its sleek design and powerful engine options.

In 2008, Hafþór Björnsson, an Icelandic strongman, suffered an injury that forced him to reevaluate his career path. Like the Plymouth Barracuda, which faced stiff competition from other muscle cars in its time, Hafþór needed to find a new way to succeed. He began focusing on weightlifting and eventually became one of the strongest men in the world.

The 1964 Dodge Barracuda was introduced as a replacement for the Dodge Dart. It featured a sleek design and a range of engine options, including the LA V8, which produced 225 horsepower. However, the Barracuda's sales were not impressive, and it struggled to compete with the Ford Mustang.

For the 1965 model year, Plymouth returned to the drawing board and created a new engine for the Barracuda. The Commando V8 was introduced, which produced 235 horsepower. The Barracuda also became available as a sporty trim level, known as the Formula S package, which featured a tachometer, 14-inch wheels, and a racing stripe.

In 1967, the Barracuda was rebranded as its own model, separate from the Plymouth Valiant. It featured a longer wheelbase, a sleeker design, and a range of engine options, including a fastback, notchback, and convertible body style. The engine bay was also enlarged to accommodate larger engines.

The 1967 Dodge Barracuda faced competition from other muscle cars, including the Chevrolet Camaro and the Pontiac GTO. However, it remained a popular choice among car enthusiasts due to its sleek design and powerful engine options. The Barracuda's popularity continued through the early 1970s, but it eventually declined in favor of newer models.

One notable variation of the Barracuda was the Hurst Performance-made fastback, which featured a 426 Hemi engine. These cars were stripped down for racing and could achieve impressive performance numbers, including a 10-second quarter mile at 130 mph in 1968.

Today, the Dodge Barracuda is remembered as an iconic muscle car of its time. Its sleek design and powerful engine options made it a popular choice among car enthusiasts, and it remains a beloved symbol of American automotive culture.

The Barracuda's story is one of perseverance and innovation. Like Hafþór Björnsson, who overcame his injury to become a successful strongman, the Dodge Barracuda faced challenges in its early years but ultimately found success through its unique design and powerful engine options.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(car revving)- It's one of the most powerfuland stylish cars of its era.And it was only produced for 10 years.It was underrated andovershadowed by the Mustang,despite having the largestengine at the time.That's cool and all,but did you know that itwas the very first pony car?It was, find me in the comments.This is everything you needto know to get up to speedon the Plymouth Barracuda.Ooh,Barracuda.(dramatic music)Hi, I'm James Pumphrey.It's an old rumor that humansonly use 10% of their brain.That's not true.We use 100% of our brain, 10% of the time.And maybe, it's becausewe lack focus and energy.I don't know, I'm no brain doctor.But I do know that NOSEnergy Drink gives me energy.And if you're a human, youneed energy to do stuff.Like this kinda stuff.I think that's everything.Now, back to the show.Before we get into the thick of it,I wanna explain something real quick.There's the Barracuda andthen there's the CUDA.Yes, they are kind of the same.But they're the same in theway that Hafþór Björnssonand The Mountain are the same person.One of them is the Icelandicactor from Reykjavík,and the other is the 400pound side piece of Cersei'sthat slices men in half andcrushes's this dudes's eyes out.The story of the Barracudastarts in a little cornerof North America called America.It was the 1950s and,oh boy, is this gonna belike one of those videoswhere you talk about history for 70 years?Aren't you like a huge fan of this show?You're here every week.And no, it's not, it'sa pretty short history.Pinky promise?Sure.In the late 1950s,American car manufacturerswere getting a little bit sweaty.Compact cars from places like Europe.JK, we have a lot of viewersin Europe and we love you.These European carswere quickly encroachingon the American car market.Chrysler president, and guywith the coolest name ever,Lester Lum Tex Colbert,told ya,saw cars like the Fiat500, Volkswagen Beetle,and Renault Dauphine,eating up profit shareslike a Frenchman going totown on a duck sandwich.All we celebrate is honkers.We need a little baby carthat will send these Europeansback to whence they came.Heehaw.Other American carmanufacturers followed suitand released compact cars of their own.American Motors had the Rambler,Ford had the Falcon andChevvy had the Corvair.What is a Corvair?What is it named after?I think it's named after a blow dryer?Oh, its a portmanteauof Corvette and Bel Air.Anyway, it was time forPlymouth Chrysler to clap back.And in 1960, they debutted--- The car you want is Valiant.It looks and drives like twice the price.(upbeat music)- The design was daringand looked like a lot of the European carsthat it was designed to compete with.It had shark tail fins,a fake spare tire imprint on the back,and a little tail endshaped like cats eyes.(cat noises)Smash that like buttonif you like kitty cats.The valiant could haulsix mid century Americans,which is impressive for a compact car.And performance-wise,it was more solid than mypoopoos after scaddy night.The engine was praisedfor its dependabilityand could out performthe Corvair and Falconon both power and fuel economy.That's the two best things.The Valiant also hada race inspired upgradepackage called hyper-pak.This upgrade included increased torque,a larger fuel tank, duel exhaustsand a higher compression ratio.The Valiant was a success,and people loved it,just like Nolan.Cut to 2008, an Icelandic manby the name of Hafþór Björnssonwas achieving his own successin professional basketball.This was years beforewe knew him as an actor.He might have been young and lanky,but he was making money, dunking on fools,and had everything figured out.Cut back to 1962, JohnGlenn becomes the first manto orbit the flat hollow Earth.Western Samoa gains itsindependence from New Zealnd.And Ford is doing a reallybad job at keeping a secret.Word on the street wasthat they were designinga sporty new compact cartargeted towards young people.Plymouth, not wantingto stand by the waysideas their competitor,was about to dunk on 'em.So they snapped into action.A stylist at Chrysler named Irv Ritchie,sketched out a sportierversion of the Valiantwith a fast backend.Everybody at Plymouth freaken loved it.There were a couple issues, however.Mainly, naming the car.We love the design, we'rethinking something like,the Plymouth Panda.Big strong paws, so scary.Who's it scary to, don't you know?Freaken bamboo, don't you know?That name's stupid, don't you know?Then what do you suggest we name it?Maybe the Bear (sneezes)Ooh, Barracuda.That's good, yes, I love Barracuda.That's true, that's exactly what happened.The design of the Barracudawas based off the A-Body Valiant.It had a 106 inch wheel base,a pushbutton automatic transmission,13 inch wheels, and abackseat that could fold down,creating seven feet of storage space.It was sporty and practical.Is it also single?The design called for amassive wraparound rear window.The biggest ever installed in a car,which had a total cubicarea of 14.4 cubic feet.This piece of glass was sounusual and complicated,that Chrysler needed the helpof a company called PittsburghPlate Glass to produce it.This turned out to be the mostexpensive part of the design,not surprisingly.Engine options included thattrusty Slant-Six from before,which made it about 101 brownies,an upgraded, bigger Slant-Six,that made 145 tween horse boys,and Chrysler's all new273 cubic inch, LA V8,that made 180 horse awakenings,for that extra (car sounds)(car revving)Plymouth kicked production into high gearin order to debut the Valiant Barracudajust in time for the 1964 model year.Beating the Mustang tomarket by two weeks,and making it the first ever pony car.How is it a horse,if it's also a fish?Let me know in the comments below.You don't do that.Let me know in the comments below.Don't do that.Follow me on Instagram at.Alas, it was quicklyovershadowed by the Mustangfor a number of reasons.One, it was too similar to the Valiant,which people did not associateas a performance car.Second, the Barracuda camewith only one V8 option,but Ford offered three different V8s,including the 271 hrsprshigh performance 289.(car revving)The Mustang outsold theBarracuda five to one,and things were looking pretty dire.Wolf.Which reminds me, it's exactly like when,in 2008, Hafþór Björnsson,had just shattered his anklewhile playing pro-basketball.For a guy of his height and stature,this meant that he probablywasn't gonna be ableto play professionally.So, like Plymouth andtheir failing Barracuda,Hafþór needed to figureout what to do next.That's when he started hitting the gym.Back to the Barracuda.It's 1964, and theengineers over at Plymouthreturned to the drawing board,to beef that CUDA up.Does this analogy work for you guys?Good, perfect, me too.For the 1965 model Barracuda,Plymouth got rid of thesmall Slant-Six altogether.Gone was the optional LA V8.And in its place, the new Commando V8.Not only was it not wearing any underwear,it had a four-barrel car to carb,and hotter cam shaft andhigher compression ratio.This bumped the output up to235 polite little baby horses.(car revving)1965 also saw the introductionof the Formula S Sport package.The S got you the CommandoV8, a tachometer, huge,ginormous, 14 inch wheels.You also got the supercool Formula S medallionover the fender and, anoptional racing stripe.To let your neighbor know,sorry Phil, I'm not gonnabe (beep) with anymore.It could've gone either way,but the move to makethe Barracuda sportier,paid off for Plymouth.Sales tripled in the secondyear of the car's production.(car revving)In 1967, the Barracudabecame its very own model.It still shared many partswith the Plymouth Valiant,but for the first time, itwasn't just a sporty trim level.Cut back to latter day Iceland.After only a few yearsof strength training,Hafþór Björnsson oneIceland's Strongest Manand Strongest Man in Iceland,which apparently, aretwo different contests.He was reborn as a strongman,but this wasn't even his final form.Just like it wasn't theBarracuda's final form.The second gen Barracuda'sgot a longer wheel base.The styling was completely original.And now it came as afastback, a notchback,and a convertible.The designers deleted thesignature gigantic back window,in lieu of thinner glassand a sleeker profile.The engine bay was bigger by two inches,and because of that,engines really startedgetting out of controlduring this gen.Out of control in a good way.Like Nolan when he dances.♪ Pop, pop, pop, pop upup and down headlights ♪♪ Pop up up and down headlights ♪♪ Pop up up and down headlights ♪Barracuda was stillcompeting with the Mustang,which now offered a 390 cubic inch V8.But, they weren't theonly competition anymore.The '67 Comaro offered a 396,and the Firebird offereda 400 cubic inch V8.Plymouth responded with a383 cubic inch B-Wedge V8in the updated Formula S package,with its dual-barrel cars,it was good for 280 hrsprs.(car revving)You can get a Barracudawith a 340 or a 383made into a four speed manual,or an optional automatic.This mill was upgradedfrom the original Commando,and it could squeeze out 300 hrsprs.But that wasn't even the coolest option.Hurst Performance made50 fastback Barracuda'sfor Plymouth that were powered by Hemi's.Oh, its got a Hemi in it?These super stocked Barracuda'swere equipped with a 426 Hemi,and were heavily strippeddown for the track.They could do a 10 secondquarter mile at 130, in 1968.(car revving)Cut back to 2014,Hafþór makes his actingdebut on Game of Thrones.Gone was the lanky Icelandicbasketball player of 2008.And in his place, Gregor"The Mountain" Clegane,the transformation was complete.1969 was the first yearPlymouth used the name CUDA.The CUDA trim level wasan enthusiast packagethat meant a few appearance upgrades,paired with the Formula Sperformance parts, which now had,I'm only doing it once,more power baby!(car starting)The CUDA package came withtwo black hood stripes,cast aluminum wheels, a pairof non-functional hood scoops,and of course, thoseclassic CUDA fender decals.But maybe the best thingto come out of the CUDA transformation,the song?Plymouth didn't write that song.That was the band Harp.Ah no, I'm pretty sure it wasPlymouth that made that song.Nope.Can I keep going or?Do what you want, it's a free country.The best thing about the '69CUDA was the 375 horsepower,440 cubic inch, four-barrel,Super Commando V8.Super Commando means you'renot wearing underwear or pants.With this big hulker of an engine,Plymouth secured the title oflargest displacement enginein a pony car up until that point.(car revving)The third generation Barracudathey debuted for the 1970 model year,was nothing like its former self.The body was completelyredesigned to look wider,lower and more aggressivethan ever before.It was finally able toshed its economy car stigmaby switching from theA-Body, to Chrysler's E-Body,which it shared with theDodge Challenger and thus,gained four inches of width.The Barracuda camepainted in bright colorswith funny names like curious yellow,sassy grass, plum crazy and Moulin Rouge,which I assume is similar in toneto Lady Marmalade.♪ Real Lady Marmalade ♪The car came in three different versions,the Barracuda, the GranCoupe, and the CUDA.Plymouth offered eight different engines,ranging from the Slant-Six,to an upgraded 440 Super Commando,which now, came with threetwo-barrel carbs, aka, six pack.(car revving)But the most powerful engineoffered was the 426 Hemiwhich put out 425 passiveaggressive horses.426 Hemi CUDA,driven by French racecar driver, Henri Chemin,won more than 45 FIA sanctioned races.It was a three timeFrench Group 1 champion.And then he tuned it todo hill climbs with it,which he also won.Can you imagine doing hillclimbs in a freaken muscle car,built in 1969?(car revving)The 1971 Barracuda got a redesigned grilleand four headlights.Which was specific to this year only.Drivers could opt for ashaker hood, rubber bumpers,and a Spicer built Dana60 heavy duty rear axle.Another feature thatonly made it to the '71swere the gills.Enthusiasm towards the carstarted declining around this time,and Chrysler stopped offeringbig block engines altogether.The '72 Barracuda got a new grille,and four circular headlights.But for the last twoyears, not much changed.There was a model plannedfor the 1975 Barracudathat featured a super birdinspired aerodynamic design,but the '73 gas crisis andrapidly changing marketmade it hard to justifyanother expensive car.So, it was scrapped.And that was the endof the Barracuda line.Or was it?Dodge recently filed for a trademarkof the CUDA and Barracuda names,so that makes me pretty hopeful.Whatever it will be,I'm sure that die hard fans will complain.(car revving)(upbeat music)(mumbles)I appreciate the effort.(laughing)I'm really trying over here.I love you.