The 1971 Plymouth 'Cuda may be the baddest muscle car of all time. Its absolutely wicked appearance was polarizing on release, and it wasn't exactly a smash hit in its day. In fact, Plymouth sold only around 6,000 of them that year, making it one of the rarest cars of the era, period. Car nuts really started to come around to them after the fact, and their rarity, paired with some of the best factory powertrains Plymouth ever offered, makes them one of the most sought-after collector cars in the world. The Auto Archaeologist just found one that's been tucked away for 30 years in a friend's garage. 1971 ‘Cuda Barn Find The Auto Archaeology, YouTube The Auto Archaeologist just uploaded a clip in which he visits a friend's garage that’s home to some seriously killer machines. In the building we're shown are three notable Mopars. Up front is a Chrysler Laser powered by a turbocharged engine backed by a five-speed, with just 20,000 miles on it. Another is a Scamp, the Dodge Dart's Plymouth Counterpart. In the far back corner is an absolute legend, though. It's a 1971 Plymouth 'Cuda that's been sitting dormant for three decades.Plymouth's E-body cars are anything but unheard of. The 'Cuda was the Challenger's sister that was born out of pure spite. These terrible twins were Mopar's answer to the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro, poised to meet them in combat. While the AAR models are the most well-recognized in racing, the 1971 'Cuda had a face that embodied Chrysler's rage.Of the four years of the 'Cuda, the 1971 model is the most unique. It's the only one to feature a quad-headlight front end and the cheese grater grille. This gave the car an evil, toothy grin that a lot of people hated back then. Being born at the dawn of the oil crisis didn't help things either, as it was powered by some of the mightiest, most gas-hungry V8 engines of the day. Today, it's loved for its sinister appearance and top-notch factory powertrain options that cars like this one were equipped with. All The Best Mopar Equipment The Auto Archaeology, YouTube The 1971 Plymouth 'Cuda we're shown in this clip was equipped with some of the best options of its time. While it didn't have the coveted 426 Hemi, it was rolling with a 340 LA engine. For those of you who don't know, these were Mopar's meanest small blocks that were known as "giant killers." They were were tight-winding, hard-running little tikes that could put a hurting on big blocks with the right tune. This model was rated to produce 275 horsepower and 340 lb-ft of torque.The Shaker hood on this car is another staple feature of this model year's 'Cuda. Not only did it provide fresh air to the V8 below, but it also enhanced the look of the car. And with a pistol-grip four-speed to boot, this was as Mopar as it could get.As complete as the body of this car is, the vacant Shaker opening tells us the driveline is missing. From what the video suggests, the original 340 is long gone. In fact, the current owner bought it with a later model 340 under the hood. The prior owner used this car for drag racing and had that engine worked up and outfitted with a tunnel ram intake. According to the Auto Archaeologist, that motor was too rowdy for street use, prompting the current owner to yank it out in favor of a 440 Six-Pack engine. Considering that the motor was conservatively rated to produce 390 horsepower and 490 lb-ft of torque, that 340 race engine had to be pretty gnarly. Gone but Not Forgotten The Auto Archaeology, YouTube This '71 Cuda is just begging for a revival. While it boasts a rather impressive layer of dust, it's a super clean, relatively complete car. Minus the drivetrain, most everything seems to be present. It wouldn't take much to get this machine back on the road, which is something the owner is planning to do.The Auto Archaeologist tells us the owner is hoping to get the car running again. While that's something we've all heard a hundred times about forgotten cars like this one, it does seem to be the case. It's taken a back seat to another project, which is a '70 Cuda Six-Barrel car that's currently being restored. With that bit of information paired with the remainder of the Mopar collection it's part of, we have faith that this '71 'Cuda will hit the streets again soon. We'll be anxiously awaiting to see how it looks when it does.