From 1963 through 1968 model years Elwood Engel had a pretty good run as head designer at the Chrysler Corporation. However, he did come out with one dud — the 1967-69 Plymouth Barracuda notchback hunchback.
What got me thinking about the hunchback was a December 2025 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine, which had a feature story about the 1967 Plymouth lineup. Writer Andy Mikonis lauded the newly redesigned Barracuda, pointing to Car and Driver calling it “the best-looking new car out of Detroit in 1967” (2025, p. 11). That may have been the case with the fastback, but the hunchback was a different story. Its short-hood, long-deck proportions went directly against the grain of the pony car field.
To be fair, the second-generation Chevrolet Corvair also eschewed the Ford Mustang’s ultra-long hood and short deck. However, at least the Corvair was artfully designed. In contrast, the Barracuda hunchback merely looked . . . weird.
That was the kiss of death for a pony car, which sold primarily on looks. So whereas the Mustang’s notchback outsold the fastback by as much as a five-to-one margin, the Barracuda’s fastback consistently overshadowed the hunchback. To add insult to injury, once the AMC Javelin was introduced in 1968, the second-generation Barracuda sank to last place in sales.
Engel was at a disadvantage with Ford, GM and AMC
I grant you that Engel and his team of designers were operating at a disadvantage to their counterparts at Ford, General Motors and even tiny American Motors. Chrysler’s bean counters apparently insisted that the Barracuda share more body parts with its regular compact siblings. That resulted in a fairly tall cowl and a floorpan designed primarily for the space efficiency needed in Valiant sedans. For example, unlike the Mustang, the Barracuda’s wheelbase wasn’t shortened behind the B-pillar. In addition, the Plymouth didn’t have a stretched front end ahead of the cowl and a shortened deck.
The positive side of the Barracuda functioning as a Valiant sedan with sportier sheetmetal is that the hunchback had an unusually roomy back seat and trunk for a pony car. The negative side was that the designers had to work extra hard to make the car look sporty. I would argue that Engel failed to do so in a surprisingly spectacular way.
The image at the top of this page shows the hunchback from its best angle — the front quarter. The fascia may have been a bit tall, but it had fashionable fake road lights and hood scoops. Meanwhile, a split grille helped to make the car look lower than it actually was.
The primary problem with the hunchback was that the Jolly Green Giant apparently sat on the C-pillar. In the image below, note how the side windows begin to curve downward well short of the B-pillar. That serves to accentuate the length of the deck, which was likely much longer than any of its direct competitors.
Cleaning up the hunchback’s worst qualities
What’s particularly frustrating about the Barracuda hunchback was that it could have looked vaguely normal if it had been given a few tweaks here and there. As a case in point, take a look at the fake Barracuda below. Most of the basic styling themes have been preserved but the hunchback was mostly removed.
In addition to a more upright C-pillar, I sliced a few inches off the rear deck. The bumpers were also lengthened to make the car look lower and more Europeanesque — and to make the deck look even shorter.
One might argue that a more substantial redesign of the greenhouse was needed. I wouldn’t disagree with that. However, these fairly modest changes illustrate how, in the immortal words of Spinal Tap, there is a “fine line between stupid . . . and clever” (Quote/counterquote, 2021).
NOTES:
Production figures were calculated from base data from the auto editors of Consumer Guide (2006) and Gunnell (2002).
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Auto editors of Consumer Guide; 1993, 2006. Encyclopedia of American Cars. Publications International, Lincolnwood, IL.
- Gunnell, John; 2002. Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1946-1975. Revised 4th Ed. Krause Publications, Iola, WI.
- Mikonis, Andy; 2025. “Plymouth in 1967: Out to Win You Over.” Collectible Automobile.” December issue: pp. 8-23.
- Quote/counterquote; 2021. “Spinal Tap’s ‘Smell the Glove’ principle.” Posted Aug. 12.
ADVERTISING & BROCHURES
- oldcarbrochures.org: Plymouth Barracuda (1967, 1968)
Just for grins, could you run a side view of the second gen Corvair coupe and maybe photoshop the Corvair roof on the Barracuda? The below the beltline proportions seem similar and the Corvair looks so graceful.
I totally agree!
Moreover how about a 4-5 door Barracuda fastback?
Sorry, but your redo of the Barracuda notchback just turned it into a generic two-door coupe. Whatever else you can say about the original notchback, at least it was distinctive looking. Remember, that body also formed the basis of the convertible model, so some of its proportions had to be taken into account.
Welp, styling is ultimately subjective . . . and people do like to argue on the Intertubes. So all I can do is speak for me: I find the hunchback to be one of the ugliest American cars of the late-60s, particularly in comparison to the fastback.
I would also question the idea that the fake Barracuda is generic — the rear window maintains its unusual curvature, particularly at the top. In addition, the deck maintains its unusual curvature for a late-60s car. The latter hints at the first two generations of Valiants. I wonder if Virgil Exner found that to be a pleasing touch in the real Barracuda.
While we’re at it, the Barracuda fastback could also be shorter and with the right proportions, it would have looked like a mini 1966-67 Charger as well as a design who’ll prefigure the Australian Charger.
Still, Plymouth was lucky then Dodge didn’t introduced a Challenger as well for 1967. Imagine what if the Dodge Challenger arrived for the 1967 model year instead of 1970? And speaking of “what if?”, imagine what if Dodge had created the Viper in 1967 but that will be for an other story. 😉 https://web.archive.org/web/20120130151112/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/09/what-if-the-dodge-viper-were-around-in-1967/