Dodge Dart

Dodge Dart at a glance

The Dart belongs to our Dodge catalogue, and its GTS, Swinger and Demon versions to the American muscle car guide.

From full-size Dart to compact Dart

The first Dart of 1960 used a unibody Plymouth platform with a 118 in wheelbase, or 122 in for wagons. It made Dodge's year. The division built 367,804 cars, its highest total to date, and the Dart accounted for 87 percent of them. A year later Dodge built 142,708 Darts and fell to ninth place in the industry. For 1962 the Dart moved to the smaller B-body, its only year on that platform.

From 1963 the Dart was a compact on the A-body with a 111 in wheelbase. In 1964 the 273 V8 arrived during the model year with 134 kW (180 hp), and for 1965 a four-barrel version with 175 kW (235 hp). That year Dodge also sold the Dart Charger, a yellow GT hardtop with this engine. For NHRA D/Stock racing the 1966 D-Dart had the 273 tuned to 205 kW (275 hp).

Dart GTS and the 1968 Hemi Dart

The Dart was redesigned for 1967, and wagons were dropped. The performance version followed in 1968. The GTS had the 340 V8 as standard, rated at 205 kW (275 hp). The 383 big-block with 224 kW (300 hp) was an option. Like every Dart of the period, it had rear-wheel drive. In 1969 the 440 V8 was available in the GTS in limited numbers. A pilot run of about 50 440-powered Darts was built in 1968 and over 600 in 1969.

The most extreme Dart was not meant for the street. In 1968 Hurst Performance built 80 Hemi Darts, coded LO23, for the NHRA Super Stock B class, with a disclaimer that they were not for road use. The 426 Hemi with two four-barrel carburettors was rated at 317 kW (425 hp) and 664 Nm. A fibreglass bonnet and wings and only two bucket seats brought the weight to about 3,000 lb (1,360 kg). The engineers claimed quarter-mile times in the 10- to 11-second range at around 130 mph (209 km/h).

Swinger 340 and Demon 340

The Swinger 340 was added in 1969. In 1970 it was the Dart's performance model with functional bonnet scoops, "Rallye" heavy-duty suspension and a 3.23:1 axle as standard. For 1971 it was replaced by the Demon 340, Dodge's version of the Plymouth Duster fastback on a 108 in wheelbase. It had the 205 kW (275 hp) 340, an optional four-speed and a blacked-out bonnet. The original name "Beaver" had been rejected by Chrysler's marketing department; the Demon name and its devil logo were then believed to hurt sales among religious buyers.

Dart Sport 340 and 360 (1973–1976)

Because of poor sales, the Demon was renamed Dart Sport for 1973, with the Sport 340 as the high-performance model. In 1974 the 340 was replaced by a 360 rated at 183 kW (245 hp, SAE net). Dodge built 285,672 Darts that year, 183,700 with six-cylinder engines and 101,972 with V8s. In 1976 the Sport 360 was dropped as a separate model, but the 360 remained an option on Sport V8 models with an automatic gearbox.

The compact Darts were still fast in the late malaise era. In an April 1976 Car and Driver comparison, the Dart Sport 360 reached 121.6 mph (196 km/h), behind the Corvette's 124.5 mph and ahead of the Pontiac Trans Am. In mid-1976 the Dodge Aspen replaced the Dart in the United States.

The Plymouth twin of the Demon, the Duster 340, is in our muscle car section. Compare the compact cars with the Plymouth Barracuda in the muscle car rankings.

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