Cars named after fish are few and far between for good reason – most fish just don’t have names that suit the automotive vibe.

Kia Sardine, anyone? Thought not.

But Barracuda – that’s a large, fast predatory fish known for its aggressive appearance and behaviour.

That’s a bit more like it, huh? Would you be this excited if the muscle car before you was called the Plymouth Panda? It nearly was, but someone with a better marketing head got their way and Barracuda it was.

Phew.

In the beginning, there were family cars, but American buyers wanted more.

They wanted something they could afford, something that looked fresh, and something that would go fast.

The early sixties were a time of economic plenty and optimism in the USA, with the Big Three American car manufacturers Chrysler, Ford and Chevrolet competing to dominate the youth market with affordable, mid-size performance cars.

The word around Detroit was that Ford was planning to introduce a sporty new compact car based on the...