Plymouth Barracuda First generation

Production	1964 to 1966
Designer	Elwood Engle Milton Antonick
Class	Sports car
Body style	2-door fastback coupe
Platform	A-body
Drive	Rear wheel
Related	Plymouth Valiant
Engine	170 cu in (2.8 L) Slant-6 225 cu in (3.7 L) Slant-6 273 cu in (4.5 L) LA V8
Wheelbase	106 in (2,692 mm)
Length	188 in (4,775 mm)
Width	70 in (1,778 mm)
Height	52.5 in (1,334 mm)
Curb weight	3,100 lb (1,406 kg)

The Plymouth Barracuda 1st generation is a two-door car that was manufactured by Plymouth in the 1960s.

History

All automakers in the US brought sports compact cars on the market in the early to mid-1960s. Chrysler chose as the basis for the model Plymouth Valiant. The Ford Mustang, which eventually sold significantly better than the Barracuda, made the designation of this vehicle class as a " pony car ", but the Plymouth Barracuda Fastback appeared two weeks earlier, on April 1, 1964. The management of Plymouth actually wanted the car Call "Panda" what the designer did not like. Finally, John Samsen prevailed with his proposal "Barracuda".

The Barracuda had the wheelbase of the Valiant Chrysler A-body with 2,692 mm, the hood, the frames of the headlights, the windshield, the front triangular windows, the fenders and the bumpers; all other sheet metal parts and windows were new. This approach reduced the cost of development, tools, and development time for the new model. 

The hatchback was designed with a 1.3 m² panoramic rear window, which was pulled up to the B-pillar. This largest window to date used in passenger car series production was manufactured by Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG). In model year 1965, the fenders and taillights of the 1964 Barracuda for the Valiant were taken (except for the station wagon, which got its own taillights).

The fastback styling is accentuated by the Largest rear window. 14. 4 square feet, ever installed in a production automobile. The window is of tinted glass. With the rear seat-back folded forward, there is ample cargo space for luggage, picnic baskets, even water skis. Cargo may be easily loaded through the opened deck lid. in addition, the Plymouth Barracuda has a security panel which creates the concealed locked storage compartment. It can be released to fold flat from inside the trunk.

The mechanics corresponded to those of the Valiant parts and bodywork except for the distinctive wraparound rear glass with a chrome band across the rear window base, including two versions of the Chrysler Slant-6 engine, a 2.8-liter engine with 75 kW in the basic configuration and an optionally available 3.7-liter with 108 kW. 

• Performance: 225 cu in
• Torque (SAE): 215'b ft. 29.1 m at 2,400rpm
• Max engine rev: 4.600
• Specific power: 39.3 hp/l
• Power-weight ratio: 19.2 lb/hp. 8.7 kg/hp:

A brand new 4.5-liter Chrysler LA-V8 with 134 kW and a twin carburettor was the largest engine for 1964; the performance was initially quite low. 

The base price for the Barracuda was $ 2,512,  the Barracuda debuted in fastback form on April 1, 1964 this was not only the first year for the Barracuda, but also the last year when the Torque flite push-button automatic was offered; Thus, the VV1-P 1964 Barracuda was the only one with this equipment. The 1964 Barracuda sales totalled 23,443 units Standard equipment included bucket front seats; bucket shaped rear bench seat with folding back rest.

In model year 1965, the 3.7-liter engine became the base engine for the US; in Canada, this remained the 2.8-liter. As the competition in the "pony-car" segment tightened, there were new optional extras: a Commando version of the 4.5-liter engine with quad carburettor, a compression ratio of 10.5: 1, a sharper camshaft and other improvements introduced, which made 175 kW. In addition, there was the Formula-S package, which included except the Commando V8 a reinforced suspension, larger wheels and tires, special emblems and a tachometer. Disc brakes and factory air conditioning were introduced at the beginning of the model year.

In 1966, The 1966 Barracuda was redesigned towards the front and largely unchanged at the rear with new taillights, a new front and a new dashboard. The latter provided space for oil pressure gauge and tachometer. The front of the vehicle, with the exception of the radiator grille, shared the 1966 Barracuda with the Valiant of the same year, giving the front fenders a more angular shape. The deluxe models also had flasher-mounted indicator lights in the fins  a vinyl top was a new option. The bumpers were larger and the grille had a solid grid. For the first time there was a centre console on request. The 225 cubic inch 145 horsepower Slant SIX was standard in the BVI-P Series Barracuda.

Although the first Barracudas looked very similar to the contemporary Valiant, they wanted Plymouth to be understood as a separate model series. So, they gave the "Valiant" lettering, which still appeared on the trunk lid of the 1964 models, 1965 on. In 1966, the cars were equipped with a Barracuda-specific, stylized fish logo, only in export markets such as Canada and South Africa, where Valiant was marketed as a separate car brand, remained the name Valiant Barracuda until the A-Barracuda was set in 1969.

The Barracuda also influenced the design of other Chrysler vehicles. Across the Atlantic, the Chrysler company in the UK, the former Roots Group, developed the Hill beam Hunter- based Sunbeam Rapier hatchback coupe in 1967, which showed striking parallels with the 1964-1966 Barracuda, though styling-responsible design Director of Roots, denied any direct connection.