Javi Martin
In the history of the Spanish automotive industry we have many illustrious names, who did much to establish and enhance the presence of a strong and prosperous automotive industry in our country. Unfortunately, of those pioneers there is hardly any memoryWell, all of them, in one way or another, have ended up disappearing. However, the passage of time has given them the recognition they deserve and fans are responsible for keeping some of those names in the memory.
One of the most famous is Pedro Serra, a designer and body builder born in Barcelona in 1926 and sadly deceased very recently, in 2017. Serra became famous for his work for different brands, designs that were not based on drawings, but instead he made them on the fly, so that no two cars are the same bodied by Serra. He was a rigorous, perfectionist guy, but also passionate and very imaginative, highlighting works such as Pegaso Z-102 Spider Saw, of which, you can see a unit up close in the Museum of the History of the Automotive Industry of Salamanca.
Dodge 3700 GT Boulevard: A Special Car
However, there is a very special car, extremely exclusive and tremendously rare, which perfectly illustrates the imaginative and technical capacities of Mr. Pedro Serra: the Dodge 3700 GT Boulevard. A spectacular coupe developed in Spain of which very few units were manufactured, because as always happens in our country, the bureaucracy does not make things easy and neither does the little car culture. Therefore, it appears a unit for sale, specifically on CatawikiIt is quite an event.
The Dodge 3700 GT Boulevard, or simply, the Dodge Serra Boulevard, were born in the 70s thanks to several twists of fate, which came face to face with the Administration. During 1970, the project took shape thanks to the teamwork of Michele Lipdrandi and Pedro Serra himself. The first was in charge of creating a chassis where the engine and transmission of the Dodge Dart manufactured in Spain could be mounted, the second, was in charge of its design and manufacture.
By 1971, approximately, the entire project is completed and Serra appears at the Chrysler delegation in Villaverde, Madrid, which were previously owned by another illustrious person in the Spanish automotive industry: Eduardo Barreros. Serra's idea was to be able to have the supply of engines and transmissions directly from the brand and as they say, he went for copper and found gold. Instead of getting the go-ahead for Dodge Dart components, found access to components of the new Dodge 3700 GT, the replacement of the Dart with some improvements.
With everything ready and available, Serra got down to work. He had the subframe of the American sedan, the transmission, the suspensions, the steering, the brakes and of course, the entire powertrain with other accessories at his fingertips. The chassis was made of electrically welded square section steel tube, on which it was placed the spectacular body made of fiberglass. It was the first time that Serra used this material, as it never seemed a suitable material until the techniques and qualities evolved sufficiently.
Difficult to get ahead
It was expected that, thanks to being marketed under the Dodge seal and with components already homologated in other models, it would be much easier to obtain permits for the new Dodge Serra Boulevard. But the reality was very different, well Given that it was an almost entirely new car, the Administration requested that Serra become a manufacturer. Pedro refused and from that moment on, everything was obstacles.
Pedro was not intimidated and at the Barcelona Motor Show in 1972, he proudly exhibited his creation, a spectacular 2 + 2-seater coupe, animated by a 3,7-liter six-cylinder block, capable of delivering 165 hp. It was intended to manufacture about 40 units per year, but barely 25 copies were assembled between 1972 and 1973, given the complications that were found to homologate each car.
Currently 17 units survive, most unrestored. The unit that is available on Catawiki, on the contrary, if it is completely restored by Auto Storica, in Barcelona. In addition, it has all the historical documentation of the car. The estimated price for this rare specimen, of 100% national production and design, varies between 42.000 and 46.000 euros.
