The HEMI Cuda is probably the most desirable and expensive muscle car of all time. A convertible with the 426 HEMI can rival some of the best Ferraris at auction and will probably be worth its weight in gold in about a decade, so you don’t want to do ANYTHING custom with it. Even fitting the wrong wheel bolts is a problem.
However, the 1970-71 Cuda also happens to be one of the sexiest muscle car shapes. One look at that angry grille and you’ll be imagining all sorts of nasty mods, from gasser suspension to blown engines, which is where renderings come in.
In the digital world, anything is possible, from full carbon fiber bodies to suspension systems that just couldn’t exist otherwise. And I don’t think there’s been a widebody 1970 HEMI Cuda rendering of this caliber ever before.
Sure, there have been memorable widebody Cuda renderings before, from artists like Brad Builds, Danny Berry, or Kalim Oozeear. However, this comes from the king of gloss himself Timothy Adry Emmanuel. The 26YO Indonesian is known for making cars that look like your favorite Hot Wheels toys but are more detailed.
Adry’s “Ruined Classics”
Every detail on this 70 Cuda has been taken to the next level, but in a way that’s just restrained enough to make the cover of Hot Rod magazine in the 1990s. Of course, the star of this makeover is the widebody kit, something nobody will ever dare to install on a real HEMI of this vintage.
Big bulging fenders generate room for the most bling chrome wheels possible. And it would be a shame to have a custom Cuda without a body-colored chin splitter or rear diffuser. Looking at the rest of the car, it’s clear that this Mopar wants to go racing. If the advanced chassis mods don’t clue you in, maybe the supercharger making its way through the hood will.
Unlike the Barracuda, the Plymouth Cuda only came with the big-boy V8 engines, expensive options to buy and own, which is why they’re as rare as supercars. The 440 “Six Pack” was awesome, but the 426 HEMI was the real king of the hill. It was officially rated at 425 horsepower, but the numbers were seriously underrated, so you can imagine what kind of track monster would be created with the added supercharger.
The Plymouth Barracuda existed before 1970, of course, but the early models had their roots in economy cars. A complete redesign for that year switched the model from the A-Body to Chrysler’s E-Body platform, the same as the Dodge Challenger. But compared to that iconic muscle car, the Cuda was shorter and lighter.
