When it comes to high-profile car collectors, no one beats Jay Leno in my book. Not only he's an entertaining guy to watch, but he also does a lot of restoration work by himself. Moreover, his collection is amazingly diverse, ranging from steam vehicles and early 20th-century automobiles to muscle cars and the latest battery-powered hypercars.
As a big fan of classic automobiles, I get excited whenever his weekly vlog includes a cool rig from the past. Much more so if it's a pre-WWII car or a beefed-up pony from the golden muscle car era. If you also enjoy these vehicles, the latest episode of Jay Leno's Garage brings a really cool Mopar into the spotlight: the 1968 Dodge Dart GTS.
Introduced as a full-size car in 1960, the Dart was redesigned into a midsize in 1962 and then reduced to a compact size in 1963. In 1967, the fourth-gen Dart arrived with a sportier design and high-performance engines that turned it into a proper muscle car. While overshadowed by the Charger, Challenger, and Super Bee, the Dart spawned a few impressively powerful variants in the late 1960s.
The LO23 is arguably the most iconic and desirable. A factory drag car fitted with a 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI V8, it saw daylight in 1968 in only 80 units. That same year, Norman Kraus of Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago fitted the massive 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) RB in 50 Darts to create the GSS. The latter inspired Dodge to drop the same engine in the Dart GTS in 1969. Dart GTS 440 production included only 640 examples.
Jay Leno's GTS is not one of those highly desirable 440 cars, but it stands out as a one-owner rig that was restored to its original specifications. And it's not a slouch either, thanks to a four-barrel 383-cubic-inch (6.3-liter) V8. It's pretty rare, too, as only 2,112 Darts left the assembly line with a 383 big-block during the 1968 model year.
Owned by the same family for many decades, it ended up in Leno's garage when the lady decided it was time for the Dart to go to a new home. Jay purchased it as a wonderfully restored example that looks just like it did when it left the assembly line save for the Cragar SS wheels and the aftermarket tach. And check out the incredible Bronze Metallic finish, which, by the way, was exclusive to the Dart in 1968.
So what makes the GTS model special? Well, it was the nameplate's range-topping, performance-oriented model. It came standard with a 340-cubic-inch (5.6-liter) V8 rated at 275 horsepower, but the options list also included a four-barrel 383 good for 300 horses. Jay's stunning Mopar is fitted with the latter, and it sounds downright awesome when the pedal hits the metal.
The former TV show host seems quite happy with the GTS, which he describes as a "big go-kart" and a "fun car overall." He also believes that the Dart would make for a great daily driver due to its relatively compact footprint, at least compared to most muscle cars from the era. Find out more about that in the video below.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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