The Rarest Of A Dying Breed: 1971 HEMI ‘Cuda Convertible

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On its way out the door in 1971, the HEMI ‘Cuda cemented its place in history as one of the rarest and most highly sought-after of the American muscle cars.

Only 12 HEMI ‘Cuda convertibles were scheduled for the assembly line in its last year of production. Of the dozen super rare Plymouths, only seven were made for the American market, three were equipped with the A833 4-speed manual transmission, and only one was finished in Winchester Gray. If the reports of the HEMI ‘Cuda convertible being the most valuable collector car from the muscle car era are true, this one has to top them all. There is literally not another like it and it has a really well-documented past that is just as interesting as the car is rare.

According to the current owner and documentation this car was one of the five foreign-market bound cars and was originally purchased in France by Jean Teyssier. Responding to a listing in an American car club newsletter that simply labeled the car as a “1971 Grey Cuda,” the previous owner took a trip to France, purchased the car, and imported it back into the U.S., eventually selling the car to its current owner. For the last two decades, the ‘Cuda has been a part of the same collection, well-maintained with all of its numbers-matching equipment, and driven modestly.

Taken at face value with all of the desirable options, including power steering, power brakes, power windows, a black vinyl interior, a center console with a Hurst pistol grip shifter, and of course the 425-horsepower 426-cid HEMI V-8 engine and A833 4-speed manual transmission, this is a highly desirable example. When you take into consideration its rare and well-documented history and the fact that it only has around 60k-miles on the clock, it's hard to argue with the statement that this may just be the most collectible American muscle car ever made. More information about this car can be found in its listing here.

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