McLaren's Plymouth Barracuda Build Is Cooler Than the W1

It was done in a collaboration with eBay for this weekend's F1 race at COTA.

Photo by: eBay

Christopher Smith

By: Christopher Smith

Oct 18, 2024 at 11:48am ET

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McLaren and eBay teamed up to build this 1973 Plymouth Barracuda restomod.
It has upgraded suspension, brakes, and it's wrapped in McLaren's iconic Papaya orange.
You can see it during the US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, October 18-20.

Even McLaren loves American muscle cars. Case-in-point is this 1973 Plymouth Barracuda, built through a collaboration between eBay and McLaren's F1 team. It looks fantastic in Hemi Orange, but actually, that's not Hemi Orange. Since this is a McLaren thing, the classic muscle car wears a Papaya body wrap, matching McLaren's historic racing color.

Does that mean there's also a high-revving McLaren twin-turbocharged V-8 under the hood? Not remotely. The build was largely handled by eBay, with input from the McLaren crew on what upgrades to plug in. As such, the muscle car's original suspension and brakes are long gone, replaced here with Mopar coilovers and Wilwood discs at all four corners. That required new brake lines, proportioning valves, and tandem master cylinders, among other things. It's safe to assume this Barracuda stops much better than it did in the 1970s.

eBay

As for the engine, that appears to be a 340 cubic-inch V-8. We don't know if it's the original engine—the press release doesn't specify—but a 340 was offered in 1973, making 240 horsepower in stock trim. We are told the engine has full-length headers connected to an upgraded exhaust system. There's an undisclosed automatic transmission sending power to the rear wheels. Speaking of wheels, this Barracuda gets American Racing 15-inch Torq Thrust wheels for a proper muscle car look. Thank you, McLaren, for not dropping some 20s on this ride.

Other upgrades include a variety of replacement lights front and rear, a new steering wheel, some racing seats, and new carpeting. Being an eBay collaboration, everything was sourced through the online auction house, including the car. And it was all finished just in time for Lando Norris to drive it into Texas for the United States Grand Prix. What, you thought he was going to roll in with a new W1?

Gallery: 1973 Plymouth Barracuda by McLaren and eBay

Source: eBay

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"We're excited to have been working with eBay to bring this modified vehicle to life ahead of the United States Grand Prix this weekend, and we look forward to sharing the experience with our fans on the ground in Austin and across the world as we return to the US," said McLaren Racing Co-Chief Commercial Officer Matt Dennington.

If you happen to be in Austin for the big race, you can see the car on display at McLaren's garage.