For 1963, Dodge gave its compact-class entry a comprehensive makeover, blessing it with a new, larger size and a new name: Dart. 

Introduced on October 2, 1962, the 1963 Dodge Dart represented a comprehensive rethink of the Chrysler Corporation’s product strategy in the compact class. Dodge’s previous compact, the ’61-’62 Lancer, was essentially a reskinned Plymouth Valiant (see our feature here). But this new Dodge ompact was a full 10 inches longer than its Plymouth counterpart, and it was sporting a new name as well. Of course, the Dart badge was borrowed from a previous full-sized Dodge model that first appeared in 1960.

Car Life magazine duly noted that with its larger size, the Dart was actually a “senior compact” like the Pontiac Tempest, Olds F-85, and Buick Special. While it continued to share the Valiant’s A-body platform, including the cowl, doors, and windshield, its wheelbase was nearly five inches longer (111 inches), producing a noticeable improvement in passenger legroom and ride motion. And at 2600+ lbs the Dart was 100 lbs heavier, too. (Dart wagons shared the Valiant’s 106.5-in wheelbase.)

With Virgil Exner now out of the picture at Chrysler, new styling chief Elwood Engel adopted a more conventional look for the Dart with cleaner, straighter lines than the Valiant/Lancer. Indeed, Dodge brochures called the theme “Straight-Line Design.” The quad headlamps of the Lancer were discarded for a pair of 7-inch single lamps and a front-end treatment that mirrored the standard-sized Dodge 330 and Polara. Reportedly, nearly $10 million was set aside to ensure that the Dart version of the Chrysler A-body would have a clear Dodge identity.

The product line included three models, in ascending order: 170, 270, and Dart GT. Two-door, four-doors, and a four-door wagon were offered at the 170 and 270 levels, while the GT was available as a Hardtop Coupe or a Convertible—Dodge’s first compact ragtop. Engine choices were limited to the 170 CID and 225 CID Slant sixes, paired with a three-speed manual transmission with column shift or the Torqueflite 904 automatic with push-button control. Chrysler’s 273 CID V8 wouldn’t become available until the following year.

There’s no question that the do-over in its compact strategy was the right move for Dodge, as the division sold nearly 154,000 Darts in ’63, a 150 percent jump over the ’62 Lancer’s volume. In fact, the ’63 Dart outsold the ’61 and ’62 Lancers combined. The 1962 model year had been a disaster in general for the Chrysler Corporation, which must have made the Dart’s success all the sweeter.

While the Lancer’s volume had lagged far behind the Valiant’s in ’61-’62, by ’65 the Dart was outselling its Plymouth stablemate, its volume topping the 200,000 mark. The Dart would remain a key element in the Dodge product line through 1976, when it was finally replaced by the Aspen. The Dart name would appear one more time in the Fiat-Chrysler era on a U.S. compact (2013-2016) based on a Fiat Group platform.