The Hurst HEMI Under Glass Plymouth Barracuda was a crowd-pleaser at dragstrips back in the day. With its 2,500-horse HEMI engine moved to the rear of the car and displayed underneath the Barracuda’s rear glass, the car has some serious weight bias. In fact, the legendary Barracuda earned more affection as a wheelstanding novelty than an actual race vehicle.

Jay Leno was so taken with the HEMI Under Glass as a kid that he called it a “bucket list moment” when he got to experience one of the Barracuda’s wheelstands on a new episode of his TV show, “Jay Leno’s Garage.” But Leno got a little more than he bargained for as longtime driver Bob Riggle was taking the Barracuda through its paces.

As it turns out, a car built for straight-line performance (and lots of wheelies) isn’t exactly nimble around corners. Riggle and Leno were reminded of that at about the 3-minute mark of the video below as Riggle rolls the car — and multiple cameras catch the action.

Luckily, Leno and Riggle were unharmed.

The HEMI Under Glass wasn’t so lucky.

You can check out the episode on June 29

 

Keywords
Share this Article
Author: David Fuller

David Fuller is OnAllCylinders' managing editor. During his 20-year career in the auto industry, he has covered a variety of races, shows, and industry events and has authored articles for multiple magazines. He has also partnered with mainstream and trade publications on a wide range of editorial projects. In 2012, he helped establish OnAllCylinders, where he enjoys covering all facets of hot rodding and racing.