Back in 1989, I was sitting in a theater in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, watching the movie “Batman” starring Michael Keaton. In several scenes, I noticed a car that was quite familiar yet new to me. It looked like one of those funky Dodge Coronados I had seen while visiting family in Argentina, but it had round headlights instead of the flush Euro-spec ones that I fancied.
Image courtesy of IMCDB
The Internet didn’t exist at the time, so I had no way of knowing, but my curiosity eventually found the answer: a Dodge 3700 GT built in Spain. How did these cars end up in an American movie (filmed in the UK)?
Dodge 3700 GT (Image courtesy of Wikipedia)
The 1971-77 Dodge 3700 GT was based on the American Dodge Dart and the Argentinean Dodge Coronado, and built by a company called Barreiros. Sheet metal was imported from Argentina, though the 3700 GT was modified with larger rear wheel openings in addition to different headlights/grille and taillights. Power came from the 225ci Slant Six (hence the cubic-centimeter-inspired 3700 name).
1969 Dodge Dart 3700 GT (Image courtesy of Wikipedia)
This wasn’t Spain’s first taste of American cars, as Barreiros produced a Dodge Dart from 1965-70. The first ones looked like a 1965 Dart, with a 1966-esque version produced from 1966-68, as far as I can tell. For 1969, this car was given a unique facelift featuring European headlights and a new grille. Different versions of these cars were built along the way, including a cabriolet, station wagon, limousine, and even a sedan powered by a Barreiros-sourced diesel four-cylinder.
1968 Dodge Dart Spectro (Image courtesy of José Serrano/Facebook)
There were also several special versions created by an outside outfit. From the earlier generation, we have the 1968 Dodge Dart Spectro (Specter) prototype created by coachbuilder Pedro Serra. Several years later, Serra returned with the Dodge Serra Boulevard GT, a 3700 GT-based fiberglass-bodied coupe that also used a custom tubular frame instead of the stock Unibody. Like the 3700 GT, it was powered by the Slant Six. It is believed just 18 were built through 1974.
Dodge Serra Boulevard GT (Image courtesy of Wikipedia)
And the answer to the question in the intro? According to Christian Wolf-La’Moy in the Internet Movie Cars Database, “I acquired the cars in Alicante, Spain. My brother and I then drove them 1300 miles across Europe to England. They were great cars, and the intent was to sell the cars after we had used them in the film.”
Dodge Serra Boulevard GT (Image courtesy of Wikipedia)
