66 Barracuda

When Plymouth released its latest Barracuda model, the 66 Barracuda, the company made some important changes to the car’s design and also to the car’s image. The 1966 Barracuda was the last Barracuda of the first generation of this beautiful pony car.

For the 1966 model year, the Barracuda received same substantial changes: The taillights were updated to a newer design, new front sheet metal was used and a new dashboard was installed. The new dashboard featured additional instruments for oil pressure as well tachometer gauges. The new front sheet metal gave the fenders an amazing new look that truly separated this model year from the ones before it quite drastically. A new item that was optional for people who wanted it was a center console.

The 1966 Plymouth Barracuda was the first of its model series that received a model specific logo: A Barracuda styled fish. This made the 1966 Barracuda, even until today, a very desirable collector’s item for many muscle car enthusiasts.

The 1966 Plymouth Barracuda was available in different versions such as the Formula S version, which was a very sporty, race car adopted version of the vehicle. The car featured three different engines, as well. There were two 6 cylinder engines and an especially strong V-8 engine that was able to produce 235 horse power. When the customer decided to purchase the V-8 engine he automatically received a rally suspension. If the customer wanted the Formula S package in addition as well, he would receive larger tires and race stripes over the car. The 1966 Barracuda was either referred to as the hardtop or the Formula S version. The Barracuda shared a common base with the Plymouth Valiant. This was a technicality that was not very advantageous for Plymouth because the two cars were mistaken for one and the same even though they were originally produced for different market segments.

The 66 Barracuda was not only a popular car, but also a very successful race car, wining several titles. In 1967, Plymouth decided to release the second generation of the Barracuda, which had a profound impact on the complete series as there were major changes introduced then as well.