Dodge Super Bee - Mexican Valiant Super Bee

Mexican Valiant Super Bee

In 1970, Chrysler of Mexico introduced the new Dodge Super Bee as a replacement for the company's previous sports car product, the Plymouth Barracuda. As the production and sale costs of the third generation Barracuda in Mexico were too high, Dodge adapted the semi-fastback A-Body platform and introduced the Super Bee at the beginning of 1970.

The Super Bee was only available with the V8 318 engine (270 hp) and the buyer could choose from either a four-speed or three-speed manual transmission. Dodge was unable to design its own Super Bee in 1970, resulting in a design that was virtually identical to the Plymouth Duster (known in Mexico as "Dodge Valiant Duster"), with the side stripes and the Super Bee decals serving as the only distinctions.

In 1971, Dodge sought to further differentiate the Super Bee from the Duster, assembling it with the grill from the American Dodge Demon. The model's body was modified on one further occasion in 1972 and by 1973 the front of the Dodge Dart became the standard design for the entire A Body line up; the Duster, Super Bee, Valiant, and Dart all consisted of the same front grill, with the rear tail-lights providing the only difference between the Super Bee and the Valiant. However, in 1976, the final year for the A-Body cars, the front grill of the Plymouth model became the standard design.

The Valiant Super Bee was equipped with the 318 V8 engine with 270 hp from 1970 to 1974 and 1975 to 1976 with the 360 V8 engine with 300 hp. These engines have more power in Mexico than in U.S.A. because Mexican anti-pollution laws were not as strict as in the US. Over the years they only received minor changes such as new grilles and rear panels and tail lights. This first generation was produced from 1970 to 1976. In 1976, Chrysler introduced the new F-Body cars: Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volare, and the Aspen R/T and Volare Road Runner as its Sports versions.

Chrysler de México decided to continue with the old names one year later, so the twins Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare were sold in Mexico as the Dodge Dart and the Valiant Volare, and the sport version was named the Valiant Super Bee. The Mexican Dodge Dart had the front of the US Plymouth Volare and the rear of the Dodge Aspen and the Mexican Valiant Volare and the Dodge Super Bee had the front of the Dodge Aspen and the rear of the US Plymouth Volare.

The Super Bee was equipped with the 360 V8 engine and 300 horsepower,the 3-speed Torque Flite automatic transmission or the 4-speed manual transmission, sports wide wheels, front spoiler, rear spoiler style Trans Am with the Super Bee spelling, with an optional blind in the rear window. Super Bee was one of the fastest cars in Mexican territory, overtaking cars like the Ford Mustang and even larger cars like the Chevrolet Malibu. The federal highway patrol used Super Bee as a squad car, and it was very difficult to find cars faster than the Super bee. For the 1980 model year,the Super Bee received a new front with rectangular headlamps.

For the 1981 model year, the Dodge Diplomat was introduced in Mexico, under the name of Dodge Dart, replacing the Dodge Aspen, and was considered a luxury car. A new sport version of the 1981 Dodge Dart replaced the Valiant Super Bee and now is called the Dodge Magnum, it had the 360 V8 engine and 270 horsepower, with variation in transmissions: The three speed automatic and the four-speed manual.