As early as 1962, Plymouth had plans to build a sporty fastback version of their new Valiant line, which was introduced in 1960. But the project was passed over until a young designer named Milt Antonick, fresh from Studebacker (and a member of the Avanti design team under Raymond Loewy,) joined Plymouth in 1963. He picked up where the original plans left off, and basing his new design closely on the Valiant body, he arrived at the "Barracuda" in time for May 1964 release.

A common misconception is that the Barracuda was a hasty response to Ford's Mustang, but this is not the case. The fish's original lack of identity was due more to a clumsy marketing effort than any mechanical or physical shortcomings. Plymouth's advertising had attempted too broad of a definition for the car: that of a sporty fastback for young men, but one that was also suitable for mom to go get groceries in - one of the first attempts at sport/ultilitarian appeal (a little ahead of its time, as things turned out.) In fact, the public didn't really begin to perceive the Barracuda as an actual muscle car until around 1966.

During this first half year of production, the Barracuda was available with the new 273ci v8, or the durable 225ci slant six. Base engine for this year only was the 170ci six, but not many were ordered, so from 1965 on, the base engine was the 225. Sales were reasonable and only mild changes were made for the 1965 line-up. The Valiant tags were removed, although the car was still technically a "Valiant Barracuda." A new Formula S option was available, in order to make the car a little stronger on the performance side.

By now, Plymouth was aware that they needed to market this car as a performance machine, if there were to be any hopes of competing against Mustang. This campaign was pretty successful, and the Barracuda sold more units during this year than any other.

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