This second-generation Barracuda hides one of 1968’s most underrated factory performance packages, a 275-horsepower 340 small-block Plymouth built barely a few thousand of. Here is why the Formula S 340 earned a reputation as a genuine sleeper, and how rare it actually was.
Calling a car hot or not usually comes down to gut reaction, but this particular Barracuda has a more interesting case to make than most drag-strip red paint jobs get credit for. Plymouth‘s second-generation Barracuda had only been redesigned the year before, with all-new sheet metal and, for the first time, a genuine small-block performance option built specifically to answer the Mustang and Camaro. It was not the biggest engine Plymouth could stuff under that hood, but in the right configuration it may have been the best-balanced one. So is hot actually the right word here, or does the story go deeper than the color?
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A Redesign With a Purpose
Plymouth thoroughly redesigned the Barracuda for 1967, giving it bespoke sheet metal separate from the Valiant it had been based on since 1964, along with new fastback, notchback coupe, and convertible body styles. That redesign set the stage for 1968‘s biggest addition: a genuine small-block performance package built to go head-to-head with the era’s other emerging pony cars.
The 340 That Nobody Expected
For 1968, the Formula S package could be ordered with a new 340-cubic-inch V8 exclusive to the Barracuda, rated at 275 horsepower and 340 lb-ft of torque, with larger-port heads, bigger 2.02/1.60-inch valves, and a 10.5:1 compression ratio. Four-speed cars got a more aggressive camshaft than the automatics, and the whole package was tuned to feel like a genuine sports car rather than a straight-line bruiser. Road testers of the era clocked it in the low 14s at the drag strip while praising its balance with options like power steering and front disc brakes.
A Rare Package, Even New
Despite the strong reputation the 340 Formula S built over time, Plymouth only sold 2,857 fastbacks, 867 hardtops, and 193 convertibles with the package in 1968, modest numbers next to the volume rivals like the Mustang and Camaro were putting up in the same showroom season. That relative rarity, combined with the 340‘s reputation as a genuine factory sleeper, is exactly why a correctly equipped 68 Formula S 340 draws a much closer look today than its production numbers alone would suggest.
The Valiant Roots Nobody Talks About
Every Barracuda built through 1969 traced its underpinnings back to the humble Plymouth Valiant, a compact economy car that shared its unibody structure, suspension, and much of its interior architecture with the sportier fastback riding on top of it. That shared platform is part of why early Barracudas, including this 1968 example, could be built and sold at a price competitive with the Mustang and Camaro despite carrying genuine performance hardware, since Chrysler spread its engineering costs across two very different-looking cars built from the same basic bones.
The Bigger Engines That Overshadowed the 340
For 1968, Plymouth also offered the Barracuda with Chrysler’s 383-cubic-inch big-block V8, a genuinely quicker but nose-heavy option that most road testers of the era considered less balanced than the smaller, lighter 340 covered above. That trade-off between straight-line power and cornering manners is exactly why period reviewers and modern collectors alike often rate the 340 Formula S as the sweet spot in the 1968 Barracuda lineup, even though it wasn’t the most powerful engine Plymouth put in the car that year.
What Came Next for the Nameplate
Plymouth carried the Formula S badge and the 340 V8 combination forward into 1969 largely unchanged before an entirely new, larger E-body Barracuda arrived for 1970, a redesign that finally gave the car room for Chrysler’s biggest engines, including the 440 and the 426 Hemi. That third-generation Barracuda gets most of the attention from collectors today, which is part of why earlier cars like this 1968 Formula S 340 draw a smaller but more dedicated following among buyers who prize its lighter weight and more nimble handling over outright power.
Why the 340 Earned a Reputation as a Sleeper
Chrysler’s small-block 340 punched well above its displacement thanks to a combination of large-port cylinder heads and a free-breathing intake design borrowed in spirit from the bigger-block engines, letting it rev freely and make power in a way that surprised drivers expecting a small-block to feel tame. That reputation followed the engine into other Chrysler products through the early 1970s, including the Dodge Dart Swinger and the Plymouth Duster 340, both of which built on the same small-block-with-big-attitude formula the Barracuda introduced first.
Judging a Tribute or Restoration Today
Because the 340 Formula S was never Plymouth’s rarest or most expensive Barracuda option, verifying one today comes down to matching the original fender tag codes and broadcast sheet to the engine and transmission actually under the hood, since a numbers-matching example still commands a real premium over a car that’s had a 340 swapped in later. That documentation matters just as much on a car built to be driven hard, like the one pictured here, as it does on a trailer-queen restoration, since provenance is what separates a genuine period performance car from a modern tribute wearing the same paint and stripes.
How ‘Hot or Not’ Debates Miss the Point
Reducing a car like this drag-styled Barracuda to a simple hot-or-not verdict skips over the more interesting question of what the car is actually built to do, since a stripped-down strip car optimized for quarter-mile times will always look different from a numbers-matching concours restoration, without either approach being more legitimate than the other. Judging a purpose-built drag car by street-car styling standards, or vice versa, misses what makes each one appealing to the specific kind of enthusiast it was built for.
What a Drag-Prepped Barracuda Gives Up
Building a Barracuda like this one for the strip typically means sacrificing creature comforts that a street-driven 340 Formula S would have kept, from sound deadening and full interior trim to, in more serious builds, the back seat and even some structural components that add weight without adding speed. Those trade-offs are exactly why a drag-prepped car and a numbers-matching original rarely appeal to the same buyer, even when both started life as the same basic 1968 model.
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