4-Door Barracuda

[HawkX66]

You guys should check out my 66 Camaro. It was a prototype that came out before the 67 model year. It was a collaboration with Chrysler. It was built with a 426 Hemi and Hilborn fuel injection.

[earntaz]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SgtHawkUSMC</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You guys should check out my 66 Camaro. It was a prototype that came out before the 67 model year. It was a collaboration with Chrysler. It was built with a 426 Hemi and Hilborn fuel injection. </div></div>

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[SS427]

Original GM artwork for 70 Monte Carlo convertible.

[Caseys69]

That Monte looks kind of cadillac-ish

[Beavis]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Caseys69</div><div class="ubbcode-body">That Monte looks kind of cadillac-ish </div></div>

You're right. The design looked familiar to me but I couldn't place it. I looked at the rear quarters again, then Bingo! The fender skirts and quarter panel front scallops remind me of the 1971-72 Eldorado Convertible.

[Beavis]

Continuing on the theme, the 4-Door Barracuda silhouette looks almost exactly like that of a 1971 B-Body Sedan, which to my eye is the biggest distraction of the build.

I doubt the Chrysler stylists would have come up with such a clumsy roofline if this concept was ever done for real. Chrysler created some of the most beautiful flowing 4-door hardtop rooflines on their C-body Plymouths, and Chryslers of that era. Designers of that era had a full understanding of how to make a hardtop roofline flow - even on 4-door body styles. GM also built some really good examples of fluidly designed 4-door hardtops that didn't look anything like their 4-door Sedan counterparts.

This Barracuda was built around a 1971 4-door Plymouth B-body and unfortunately.... it still looks like a reskined 4-door sedan with shorter deck proportion and Barracuda front and rear design elements.

Sadly this 4-Door Barrcuda Project doesn't represent itself well as a &quot;what-if&quot; concept. Its a flop.

Sure Chrysler had all type of 4-door Hardtops in their fullsize C-body line in 1970, but General Motors was building the nicest most comprehensive line of 4-door hardtops in the industry (with the obvious exception of pony cars)




This photo was found on another Mopar website submitted by ECS.

Source: http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparf...ept-car/page35

[Beavis]

(continued):

If a 1970's General Motors customer wanted to buy any 4-door hardtop model, there's a good chance they were building them.

In 1970, the General offered 4-door hardtop models such as: Oldsmobile Cutlass and Ninety-eight, Pontiac Lemans and Catalina, Chevrolet Chevelle, Malibu and Impala, Buick Skylark, LeSabre, Electra, and Wildcat. I may have left some out, but this proves a point.

This project can't even be considered a valid &quot;what-if concept&quot; as the builder suggests. A 4-door Barracuda project (based on a sedan or otherwise) would have been cancelled way before it got started....which makes &quot;prototype tribute&quot; such a complete joke.

Are we to believe that Chrysler decided it was a good marketing decision to dilute their first year pony image and create an ugly, old-man style, totally useless, 4-door sedan?

[ZLP955]

Beavis, I may be out of line here (in which case I will apologise) but you started this thread asking opinions about this car, and then continue to put forward your argument for it being nonsense. Sooo.... can I ask outright, are you one of the contributors on that other forum thread that had a long-running 'debate' with ECS?

[robber6910]

For someone that has a family to haul around it's a cool car. It's not easy stuffing 6 year old twins, their booster seats and accessories into the rear of a 2 door coupe.

[Beavis]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: robber6910</div><div class="ubbcode-body">For someone that has a family to haul around it's a cool car. It's not easy stuffing 6 year old twins, their booster seats and accessories into the rear of a 2 door coupe. </div></div>

Good point. Sure it has a somewhat bigger rear seat and 2-extra doors so could be <span style="font-style: italic">somewhat</span> useful....

The 4-door trunk looks to be the same size as the two door model. If you've been around Chrysler E-bodies you'll know this tiny trunk and decklid opening won't fit a stroller - or a suitcase! It would barely fit one diaper bag. LOL.

My two cents. The &quot;smart money&quot; would've been to consider a sporty model of Chrysler's 1971 Plymouth B-Body Satellite 4-door. It could've used a 340 engine with dual exhaust, rallye wheels, buckets seats and console, maybee a blacked-out grille, subtle stripes, badging, etc if they really wanted to appeal to the young family market as you suggested. It would likely have been shot down, but 90% cheaper than the tooling to build a 4-door Barracuda.