Award-Winning Custom ’70 ’Cuda Preys On Lesser Muscle Cars

It takes a special build to get the attention of the SEMA Hot Rod Industry Alliance, and this ’70 ’Cuda did just that. Built by Classic Car Studio (St. Charles, Missouri), it won the HRIA Design and Innovation award at the 2026 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

Plymouth built over 50,000 ’70 Barracudas and ’Cudas, this being the first year the ponycar was spun off its Valiant A-body roots and onto the new E-body platform. The styling was revolutionary and shared very little of its earlier design cues. It was bold, in-your-face, and aggressive — yet somehow sleek.

Classic Car Studio took that to the next level (and beyond). Many Pro Touring builds lose what made the original design special. This one enhances every aspect of the factory design team’s hard work. The hood is inspired by the 1970 AAR ’Cuda’s original fiberglass bonnet and exaggerated to the point of being able to scare little children. In fact, the paint scheme itself is similar to the AAR’s, including the blacked out hood, top of the front fenders and nose cap. All that’s missing is the AAR tape stripes, which we thing falls into the “addition by subtraction” category. 

Styling Inspiration

The AAR was Plymouth’s last entry into the SCCA’s Trans-Am series, where it competed with the Camaro Z/28, Mustang Boss 302, and Firebird Trans Am and AMC Javelin. It never won a Trans-Am race, but it was definitely a player on street and strip, with its 340 Six Barrel engine, four-speed trans, and an underrated 290 horsepower. 

This build leaves the standard AAR ’Cuda for dead. Under the hood is a Whipple supercharged 426 cubic-inch Gen-III HEMI from Don Schumacher Racing Engines that makes 1,200 horsepower. The blower is Whipple’s 3.0-liter unit and it is fed by an Aeromotive fuel system from a Rick’s Tank gas tank. ARP fasteners keep the engine together every time the throttle is planted.

Gasses are expelled by custom CSS headers and exhaust with ZyBar Coating by ZyCoat. Borla mufflers with custom billet CNC exhaust tips exit the rear. A Johnson’s Radiator Works radiator helps the E-body keep its cool.

All that horsepower and torque goes through a Bouchillon Performance Engineering 8HP90 eight-speed automatic transmission to a Strange Engineering 9-inch diff. We love the fact that the gearbox uses the factor trans selector in the console. No Slap Stik shifter here!

A Roadster Shop Fast Track chassis and independent rear suspension gives the ’Cuda the kind of grip enthusiasts could only dream of in 1970. It rolls on HRE 427 wheels (19×9.5 front, 20×12 rear) wrapped in Michelin tires (255/35ZR19s and 335/30ZR20s). Baer six-piston brakes haul it down from speed with the assistance of a Rad Rides by Troy electric brake booster that’s hidden under the dash.

Impressive Interior

The original E-bodies had a lot of things going for them, but the biggest knock was the interiors, which were full of hard plastics and door panels that eventually started flaking apart from the sun and heat. No such trouble with Crews’ ’Cuda. Virtually the entire custom CCS cockpit is covered in Hydes leather. A Sparc Industries custom wheel hangs off an Ididit steering column. Nu-Relics power windows operated by Entech window switches add a touch of convenience. 

The custom digital gauges and climate control panel are from Dakota Digital, with the latter working the Vintage Air Gen 5 A/C system. All billet interior and engine parts were machined by BBT Fab. 

The color is off the hook. With the lighting at the SEMA Show (where we encountered it), it looked brown in some instances, with a light rose in others. Paint is from BASF’s Glasurit 55 line. Both the carbon fiber hood and billet hood hinges are from Ringbrothers. Ogden Chrome handled the Nickel Plating, King Coatings the powder coating, and Raptor the protective undercoating.

Dapper headlights and Digi-Tails LED taillights were added and Gentex side mirror glass, rearview mirror and sunvisor round out the exterior. (The car was featured in the Gentex booth at SEMA. 

We have to hand it to Classic Car Studio. It turned out one of the most exceptional E-bodies we have ever seen. This ’70 ’Cuda is like no other we’ve encountered.