Javillac
Under the phrase “They are already rolling through Spain” the hitherto unstoppable empire created by Eduardo Barreiros announced the launch in 1965 of the Dodge Dart that would bear his last name. This car became the most luxurious and expensive in domestic production, being only available to very few budgets.
The reason for this American car in Spain was the commercial agreement established between Barreiros and the American giant Chrysler. It was the Detroit executives who demanded from the Galician businessman a high sales volume for the Dart, something for which the Spanish market was not yet ready, and which was one of the reasons why Barreiros ended up being absorbed by Chrysler.
But some time before this car crossed the Atlantic, the Dart had been on sale in the United States since 1960. Although In 1956 Chrysler had already presented a prototype In collaboration with the Italian coachbuilder Ghia which they called Dart.
In 1960 the Dart was born as a series production model for the Dodge brand., and it would be a full-size car, with a very futuristic design in which you could see the last strokes of the “jet age” symbolizing the end of the era of tail fins on the automobile.
In 1962 the car reduced its size, and different trim levels were introduced; Dart, Dart 330, Dart 440 and Polara 500. The design of the 1962 Darts is quite controversial and was never liked by everyone.
Perhaps for these reasons, in 1963 there was already a completely different new Dart on the market, and it would be this third generation that would end up arriving in Spain. Curiously, although in Europe it was a huge vehicle, this Dodge was marketed in America as an economical compact, close to five meters in length, but without exceeding it, and was designed to compete with cars such as the Ford Falcon and Chevrolet Nova.
Fashion in the American motor industry during the 1960s dictated that models had to be subtly redesigned each year to maintain public interest. The 1964 Darts were exhibited at a fair in Spain as a preview of the model that would begin production a year later.
THE OTHER AMERICAN DART CONTEMPORARY TO SPANISH
In the summer of 1965, sales of the Dodge Dart Barreiros began, manufactured in Villaverde in two finishes; the 270 and the GL. Both were equipped with the 3,7 HP, 145-liter inline six-cylinder engine known as “Slant Six” that the brand had introduced in 1960.
But the American buyer would have other engines to choose from for his Dart, with another 2,8-liter inline six-cylinder block with 101 HP, as well as a 8 HP 4,5-liter V180, which from 1965 could develop 235 HP thanks to a four-barrel carburetor.
The same happened with the gearbox options, in Spain initially only the Dart was offered with a three-speed manual transmission on the steering wheel. In the United States this car could be equipped with a four-speed manual transmission on the ground, which would be available in the Spanish market with the GLE in 1966. There was also a three-speed automatic transmission, an option that only the 3700 would come to have in the seventies.
As for the bodies, beyond the four-door sedan, The Dart was sold as a two-door coupe and convertible, as well as a station wagon., marketed as Station Wagon, which Barreiros would begin producing in 1966.
On the other hand, there were the trim levels in America. The most basic was the Dart 170, followed by the Dart 270 and with the Dart GT as the highest of the range., offered only as a coupe and convertible, which would be a nomenclature that In Spain it would be used from 1969.
In 1966 the Barreiros model was updated at the same time as its American counterpart., with a slight redesign that changed the front part of the vehicle. This version would extend its production in Spain until 1969, when they were presented The Dart Line 69, the work of Mario Gamarra with a new front that would serve to end the stock of 1966 bodies that the company had.
In 1967, the fourth generation Dart appeared in the United States, which would be manufactured until 1976., and that would make the car a full-fledged muscle car, offering the powerful 8-liter Hemi V7,2 engine. Meanwhile, in Spain the 3700 was offered, a product that sought to distinguish itself from the American Dart, with which it continued to share a platform, and which managed to survive for a year, but without the same level of popularity.
Photos: Dodge
