- McDonald’s promotional stunt shows the Hamburglar character driving a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda around the United States.
- The themed muscle car has a custom interior that matches Hamburglar’s costume.
- This is very silly, but we’ll give the marketing team props for good taste in cars.
UPDATE: The original press release didn’t have drivetrain info for the Hamburglar’s ride, but since this is clearly the most important car of 2024, we tracked down designer Sean Smith, who let us know that the Barracuda is packing a beefy 440-cubic-inch big-block backed by a Chrysler four-speed.
It’s been an interesting week for muppet characters and corporate mascots. First Sesame Street’s Elmo was bombarded with stories of woe after a social media check-in on X (really, and always, Twitter), and now we find out that sandwich-related crime pays well enough to afford a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda. Have you seen the recent prices on E-bodies at Barrett-Jackson and Mecum auctions? That’s a lotta stolen patties.
What are we talking about? Oh, a marketing stunt for McDonald’s, in which the Hamburglar—a notorious criminal—will promote the fast food chain’s new burger offerings in the flashiest of getaway cars. The Hamburglar is of course, not real, but the Barracuda is. The “Burgercuda” (a terrible name, they should have called it the “Tire Fryer”) was designed by San Diego–based artist Sean Smith, who has had plenty of practice penning fast Mopars. Some of his previous work includes the widebody Dodge Charger built by Speedkore for Fast and Furious 9, and actor Kevin Hart’s supercharged Plymouth Road Runner built by Salvaggio Design. For the Hamburglar’s Barracuda (I won’t say its name again. I won’t), Smith worked with Fusion Motor Company and Sew Cal Rods & Upholstery to create the black and white Plymouth and its burglar-chic interior.
Hamburglar-specific details include the terrible name as a fender badge, admittedly beautifully done in the classic Barracuda script, and the Hamburglar’s “robble robble” catchphrase on the shaker hood bubble. The press release for the car claims it wear “bun-like hubcaps,” but the photos just show the standard Mopar dog dishes. Inside the console, though, there is a burger warmer, which frankly is an excellent idea for a muscle car and something Stellantis should consider for the next Charger.
On the quarter-panels, the Barracuda wears QR codes, the scanning of which earns the car spotter a chance to enter a sweepstakes for free burgers or McDonald’s swag. We don’t know about the new burgers, but we’ll admit the Hamburglar’s new car is tasty.
Like a sleeper agent activated late in the game, Elana Scherr didn’t know her calling at a young age. Like many girls, she planned to be a vet-astronaut-artist, and came closest to that last one by attending UCLA art school. She painted images of cars, but did not own one. Elana reluctantly got a driver’s license at age 21 and discovered that she not only loved cars and wanted to drive them, but that other people loved cars and wanted to read about them, which meant somebody had to write about them. Since receiving activation codes, Elana has written for numerous car magazines and websites, covering classics, car culture, technology, motorsports, and new-car reviews. In 2020, she received a Best Feature award from the Motor Press Guild for the C/D story “A Drive through Classic Americana in a Polestar 2.” In 2023, her Car and Driver feature story “In Washington, D.C.’s Secret Carpool Cabal, It’s a Daily Slug Fest” was awarded 1st place in the 16th Annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards by the Los Angeles Press Club.