Check out this one-owner, super clean, 1965 Barracuda Formula S. It has a 273-cube/235 hp. engine (10.5:1 compression) 4-speed and the Rallye Pack, consisting of heavy-duty suspension: shocks, sway bar, shock absorbers, 14-inch wide-tread tires and a tachometer. But the motor was not the regular two-barrel as before. ChryCo engineers bolted a four-barrel carburetor atop the small-block LA, and pushed compression from 8.8:1 to 10.5:1. In 1965, the base Barracuda cost $2,535, and the Formula S package added another $258 to the tab. Around 10,000 Barracudas had the 273 Commando V8 in 1965, but not all of them were Formula S units. Specifically, 3,313 units were equipped with the 273 V8 Commando and a 4-speed manual, while another 2,803 featured the same engine with an automatic transmission, bringing the total Formula S production to 6,116. Testing the 235-hp version of the 273 V8 in 1965, Car Life clocked a 0-60 mph time of 8.2 seconds and a 1/4 mile in 15.9 seconds, at 85 mph. Flat out, their four-speed manual test car tapped out at 118 mph, with the standard 3.23 rear end gearing. To signal the upgrade, from 1964, Chrysler Motor Corporation dubbed the Formula S engine “Commando” – a staple that would go on to describe the rest of the decade for Plymouth muscle, particularly in its Super Commando versions from the late sixties.
