Man of Steel
10-17-2019, 11:09 AM
An untrained eye would pass it off as some sort of Jensen or Bristol, or maybe even an early Celica prototype. But the diehards wouldn’t mistake the identity of the Dodge Serra Boulevard 3700 GT - especially not if they were from Spain… The coupé was way ahead of its time and looked more like something out of the mid-Eighties than the early Sixties. It came about as the result of Chrysler’s relationship with Barreiros, the Spanish manufacturer of engines, trucks, buses, tractors and cars. The duo agreed to market a version of the Dart for Spain — but there was a problem; Spanish law prevented the sale of imports.
However, they found a way around that. The Dart was given a serious makeover by Pedro Serra, one of Spain’s premier coachbuilders, who gave it a tubular chassis along with a total restyling both inside and out, and the Dart was then renamed the 3700 GT. It packed the legendary Chrysler Slant Six (you could find the 3.7-litre mill in almost everything the carmaker built in the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties), which gave it more than enough poke (145bhp) to match the macho aesthetics.
Coming at a time when muscle cars were all the rage across the pond and with Europe wanting to get in on the act, the wonderfully exaggerated long-bonnet-short-rump GT went down well with enthusiasts. It was positioned as a luxury car that could be enjoyed by the whole family, and the ’74 MM30 took that one step further. This one had 30bhp more (175bhp) and 50 were planned for production. However, with Spain wanting Serra to become a licensed manufacturer and not just a coachbuilder, and with the process proving far too complex what with Dodge and Barreiros unable to find a compromise that would suit all parties, the model ceased production with just 18 units built.
With so few made, trying to find the sporty European coupé/muscle car with a Slant Six and racy styling is almost impossible.
Source: Dodge Serra Boulevard 3700 GT - Wheels (https://wheels.ae/car-culture/classic/article/2951/dodge-serra-boulevard-3700-gt)
However, they found a way around that. The Dart was given a serious makeover by Pedro Serra, one of Spain’s premier coachbuilders, who gave it a tubular chassis along with a total restyling both inside and out, and the Dart was then renamed the 3700 GT. It packed the legendary Chrysler Slant Six (you could find the 3.7-litre mill in almost everything the carmaker built in the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties), which gave it more than enough poke (145bhp) to match the macho aesthetics.
Coming at a time when muscle cars were all the rage across the pond and with Europe wanting to get in on the act, the wonderfully exaggerated long-bonnet-short-rump GT went down well with enthusiasts. It was positioned as a luxury car that could be enjoyed by the whole family, and the ’74 MM30 took that one step further. This one had 30bhp more (175bhp) and 50 were planned for production. However, with Spain wanting Serra to become a licensed manufacturer and not just a coachbuilder, and with the process proving far too complex what with Dodge and Barreiros unable to find a compromise that would suit all parties, the model ceased production with just 18 units built.
With so few made, trying to find the sporty European coupé/muscle car with a Slant Six and racy styling is almost impossible.
Source: Dodge Serra Boulevard 3700 GT - Wheels (https://wheels.ae/car-culture/classic/article/2951/dodge-serra-boulevard-3700-gt)