The 1970 Plymouth AAR `Cuda took its name from Dan Gurney’s All-American Racers (AAR) team. This team promoted the Barracuda in the popular Sports Car Club of America’s (SCCA) Trans-Am competition series. The track version of the AAR `Cuda (#42) ran a 440-bhp, 305-cid with a single four-barrel carburetor and was lowered and modified to endure the winding race track of this circuit. This car was driven during the 1970 Trans-Am Championship by Dan Gurney in the first two races and Swede Savage in the final eight races of the season; there was one race (Mid Ohio) that neither raced in.
Although the AAR `Cuda looks the sportiest, it is not the most powerful. It was built to homologate (approve) the small-block engine for SCCA racing production. There were 2724 AAR `Cuda's built between the dates of 11 March and 17 April 1970 at the Hamtramck, Michigan assembly plant. There are 1452 AAR `Cuda's in the Transamcuda AAR `Cuda Registry as of 08 July 2019, based on their color distribution information.