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A rare survivor from Mopar's golden age is crossing the block this August: a 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda finished in red over black, one of only 59 hardtops built that year with the factory 426 Hemi paired to a four-speed manual. The car heads to Mecum Auctions' Monterey 2026 sale on Friday, August 14, carrying a pre-auction estimate of $850,000 to $900,000.
Under the shaker hood sits the original, numbers-matching 426/425-horsepower Hemi V-8, backed by the correct A833 four-speed manual and a Hurst Pistol Grip shifter. The drivetrain is rounded out by the desirable A33 Track Pak with a 3.54 Sure Grip differential, giving this Cuda the full complement of factory go-fast hardware that Hemi car buyers covet.
The listing notes that the car retains its original body and underwent a professional, NOS-heavy restoration, backed by a Dave Wise inspection report that should give bidders extra confidence in its authenticity. It's also described as a genuine factory billboard car, a reference to the bold hockey-stick side graphics that defined early-1970s Cudas, and it wears period-correct touches like color-keyed mirrors, a rear spoiler, factory Rallye wheels and Goodyear Polyglas GT tires.
The Hemi Cuda has long occupied a special place in Mopar lore. Built on Chrysler's E-body platform alongside the Dodge Challenger, the Cuda could be ordered with anything from a mild 318 up through the fearsome 426 Hemi, a spread Motorious has explored in its look back at the Barracuda's decade-long production run. The 1971 model year carries its own mystique among collectors, since it was the only year the Barracuda wore quad headlamps, a detail covered in our dedicated feature on the 1971 Plymouth Barracuda. Mopar's aero-warrior cousin, the Plymouth Superbird, shared that same big-block muscle car ethos, as detailed in our feature on the Plymouth Superbird.
Values for E-body Mopars have moved dramatically over the past two decades, and Hagerty's valuation tools illustrate just how wide the gap is between garden-variety Barracudas and Hemi-optioned cars. Hagerty's price guide tracks the 1971 Barracuda across a range of configurations, from small-block 318 and 383 cars up through the rare high-performance variants, and the difference between those figures and what a documented, numbers-matching Hemi car like this one commands is substantial. With only 59 four-speed hardtops built for 1971, surviving cars that still wear their original drivetrain and body tend to draw serious competition whenever one reaches the block, a dynamic reflected in this car's six-figure estimate.
This Hemi Cuda joins a strong muscle car lineup at Mecum's Monterey 2026 sale, which also features a freshly restored Porsche Carrera GT among its headline consignments. Bidding on Lot F135 takes place Friday, August 14, and interested collectors can register through Mecum ahead of the sale.
