McDonald’s Hamburglar hitting the road in the Burgercuda

If your job is stealing hamburgers, it helps to have a good getaway car.

McDonald’s has given the Hamburglar—cartoon burger thief extraordinaire—his own ride. It’s a modified 1970 Plymouth Barracuda called, inevitably, the Burgercuda. It’s being driven cross country, and McDonald’s is inviting fast food customers to win prizes by spotting it and scanning a QR code on the rear quarter panels. Unexplained in the press release from the fast food giant is why a car called the Barracuda is being used to steal burgers and not Filet-O-Fish sandwiches.

The Barracuda has a black-and-white livery to match the Hamburglar’s black-and-white striped prison apparel outfit, a theme that’s also replicated with the interior’s upholstery. Nestled between the striped bucket seats is a hidden burger warmer in the center console, naturally. There’s also a burger holder and a cupholder on either side of the shifter.

Other details include a cheeseburger-shaped spare tire cover and bun hub caps. The license plate and shaker hood scoop sport different versions of the Hamburglar’s catchphrase, “robble robble.”

Mechanical details aren’t really important in a marketing stunt like this, but the Barracuda came with some tasty options when new, including a choice of the legendary 440-cubic-inch and 426-cubic-inch Hemi V-8s, among others. This was the first year for the second-generation Barracuda, which was twinned with the Dodge Challenger. Both brands’ takes on this platform represented peak muscle car.

Original versions of the high-performance Barracuda models are also among the biggest muscle-car collectibles. The first Hemi-powered 1970 Plymouth Barracuda surfaced for sale in 2023 with a $2.2 million asking price. That would buy a lot of McDonald’s hamburgers.