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The Chrysler Group has resurrected the Dart nameplate from the 1960s for its new Dodge compact sedan model that will receive its world premiere at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in the second week of January. The new Dart is the first Chrysler Group vehicle to be based upon a Fiat architecture as it makes use of a modified version of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta hatchback's platform named Compact U.S. Wide (CUSW), which has been lengthened and widened to improve interior space.
The Detroit automaker says that 68 percent of the Dart's body is composed of high-strength steel, resulting in a "very strong and rigid structure". Powering the 2013 Dodge Dart will be three four-cylinder gasoline powerplants including a new Tigershark 2.0-liter unit, a 1.4-liter MultiAir Intercooled Turbo engine that will most likely be shared with the Fiat Abarth 500 in the U.S., and a new Tigershark 2.4-liter MultiAir engine.
The MultiAir technology on the 1.4L Turbo and the 2.4L units that allows for direct and dynamic control of air intake and combustion is said to result up to a 15 percent increase in low engine rpm torque, a 7.5 percent improvement in fuel economy and a 10 percent reduction in C02 emissions.
We only get a glimpse of the exterior styling of the new Ford Focus- and VW Jetta-sized Dart, but it's obvious that the design with the split-crosshair grille and the full-width LED ‘racetrack’ tail lamps was inspired by the Charger.
The new Dart sedan will be manufactured at the Chrysler Group’s Belvidere Assembly Plant in Belvidere, Illinois.
