Dodge aims to make a point with Dart

We saw an array of Chryslers badged as Lancias at September’s Frankfurt motor show, and now the pendulum has swung the other way as Dodge has released the first teaser images of its new Dart compact sedan, which is based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta’s architecture.

Due to debut at next month’s Detroit motor show, the Dart is a significant debutant as it’s the first Chrysler product to use Fiat Group hardware and it also rekindles a long-mothballed nameplate that had a 16-year production run from 1960-76.

Touted as the most fuel-efficient model in Dodge’s line-up, the Dart will from next year be built at Chrysler’s Belvidere, Illinois, plant, which has received a $600m cash injection for an upgrade enabling it to handle production of the compact sedan, along with other new models.

The Dart’s engine line-up will include a 1.4-litre MultiAir turbocharged four-cylinder, a 2.0-litre ‘Tigershark’ four-cylinder, and a 2.4-litre ‘Tigershark’ four-cylinder with MultiAir.

In order to underpin the Dart, the Giulietta’s Compact Wide architecture has been lengthened and widened, and in the process, it’s been renamed to ‘Compact US Wide’. Hence the company’s claim that the Dart “blends Alfa Romeo DNA with Dodge’s passion for performance”.

The fully independent suspension is complemented by what Dodge claims is the most aerodynamic body in its class, with the key visual highlights being the trademark ‘crosshair’ grille at the front and full-width LED lights (that form a racetrack motif) at the rear.

The Dart also comes with dual exhausts to mimic its larger Charger sibling, and it will be available with 18-inch alloys.

Although the Caliber is due to get the axe next year, Dodge stresses the Dart is not a replacement for the compact crossover hatchback, owing to its sedan format.

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