Lost for 50 Years, This Rapid Transit System 1970 ’Cuda Is the Craziest Custom Commissioned by Chrysler

Let’s take a little walk back in time to 1970, when the American muscle car ruled the boulevards. It was also a time when some of the wildest customs were catching everyone’s attention. This eye-candy craze wasn’t lost on automobile manufacturers, and they saw custom cars as a great way to market their stock factory offerings. In the early ’60s Ford did its successful Custom Car Caravan as a way to get the attention of younger buyers by having their show cars worked over by well-known customizers. Plymouth had previously dabbled in this custom car marketing idea but really went all in for their 1970 Rapid Transit System (RTS) tour.

The Rapid Transit System team consisted of four cars and to get the right look they enlisted Harry Bradley. Bradley was a designer for GM, but more importantly he was a designer at Hot Wheels, so he was no stranger to the idea of luring in young drivers (and future drivers) with crazily modded car designs. Bob Larivee, who put on the Detroit Autorama, also pointed them toward notable custom-car builders who could bring Bradley’s designs to life. Byron Grenfell was assigned a 1970 340 Duster to work over, and Roman’s Chariot Shop (one of the coolest shop names ever) was handed a 1970 Hemi Roadrunner. The Rapid Transit 1970 ‘Cuda and 1971 Road Runner were both given to 1968 Ridler award-winning builder Chuck Miller at Styline Custom in Detroit. When finished, the cars traveled the country in a yellow, 44-foot tractor-trailer plastered with the RTS logo. It was marketing gold, and the traveling car show was a hit.

Before we get into this 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda Rapid Transit System custom being offered at the Mecum Auctions Indy event in May, we need to talk about Steven Juliano, an important figure in the car’s story. Juliano was a Southern California Shelby collector, but was so taken by the Rapid Transit System cars that he began a quest to buy all four of the cars, along with every single piece of memorabilia he could find. He did buy three of the cars, and found the fourth. Sadly, he passed away from cancer in 2018, and his three cars, along with their memorabilia, were sold at Mecum’s Indy event in 2019. If you want to read more about these three cars, and find out what they sold for, check out the story we did.

That brings us to the fourth and final member of the Rapid Transit System quartet of custom muscle: the 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda built by Chuck Miller. All four of the cars had dropped off the radar, and from 1971 through the ’90s it was like they didn’t exist. Even when eventually shown, they were shunned by the Mopar purists, but those in the know, like Juliano, saw them as the important parts of Mopar history that they are. As we stated, Juliano had bought three of the four RTS cars, but although he knew this one was stored under the Ambassador Bridge on the border between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, Canada, he was never able to buy it. Maybe just knowing where it was located was enough for him. Well, the RTS 1970 ‘Cuda is back in the limelight and getting ready to head to the Indy Spring Classic Mecum event as Lot R581.1. Fun fact: Miller is the guy who turned the Red Baron model kit into a full-size vehicle for the ISCA show series!

The RTS ‘Cuda is in unrestored, original condition and still wears its custom metalwork and the groovy lacquer paint that was applied by Miller between 1970 and 1971. The odometer reads just 967 miles. The Plymouth ‘Cuda is serial number 100005, meaning it was a very early production model. There’s some mystery about what the car did before being customized but the prevailing guess is that the ‘Cuda was used by Plymouth for styling studies and for long-lead and other photography to show off the new ‘Cuda E-body look. The fender tag is there but no options codes other than the driveline are present. Considering how it was stored, the RTS ‘Cuda is in surprisingly good shape.

The RTS ‘Cuda fields its original 440 six-barrel V-8 engine along with a TorqueFlite automatic transmission, and as you can see, the engine bay was sprayed black by Miller back in ’69. There was even a device that shook the Shaker Scoop without needing to start up the car, and, yes, it’s still there. Personally, we dig the faux parachute and retrolicious wheelie bars that you can see up close in the gallery.

The Rapid Transit System ‘Cuda was unveiled at the 2023 Mecum event in Houston and the buzz about this rediscovered piece of automotive history has been growing ever since. If you want to read Mecum’s blog on the consigned ‘Cuda, click here. With this fourth and final car back in the world we’re really hoping the owners can get together and display them as a group for the first time since the early ’70s.

Join host Mike Musto to see how something wonderful happens when you combine passion and drive with old-fashioned work ethic and family values. Meet Northern Bel, the 1966 Plymouth Belvedere that was conceived by owner David Meyer and brought to life by coachbuilder Troy Trepanier. About as tastefully done as one can get, this old Plymouth packs a 526 cubic inch Hemi, twin rear-mounted turbochargers and enough power to launch it to the moon if you placed it vertically. Sign up for a free trial to MotorTrend+ and start streaming every episode of The House of Muscle today!