A handful of 1976 Dodge Aspens ran gas turbine engines instead of V8s, as US Department of Energy test mules chasing cleaner, more efficient propulsion.
Lead trim: Aspen 225 slant-six I6, 1-bbl (1980, 90 hp) · up to 170 hp
Dodge AspenF-1976-DODGE · 1976–1980
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Dodge Aspen yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactA handful of 1976 Dodge Aspens ran gas turbine engines instead of V8s, as US Department of Energy test mules chasing cleaner, more efficient propulsion.
Deriving its name from the tree and the ski-resort city, the Dodge Aspen is a compact car marketed by Dodge for the 1976 to 1980 model years as the successor to the 1960–1976 Dodge Dart, sold by Plymouth as the Plymouth Volaré (replacing the Valiant); the model line marked the debut of the all-new Chrysler F platform, the ground-up redesign of the Chrysler compact line since 1960. The two-door coupé lost the hardtop roofline of the Dart/Valiant (a thick "B" pillar was used), and the line was also offered as a four-door sedan and a five-door station wagon, the first Chrysler compact wagon since 1966. Chrysler introduced a new front suspension of crossed torsion bars mounted transversely beneath the engine (the "Isolated Transverse Suspension System") with a K-shaped cross member on four rubber mounts, and rubber-isolated leaf springs at the rear; body engineering used computer-aided design, wind-tunnel testing, thinner glass, lighter door beams and HSLA steel, with 25% (coupé) to 33% (sedan) more glass area. They were named Motor Trend Car of the Year for 1976 but suffered numerous quality problems, frequent recalls (at least eight serious ones for 1976 alone) and early rust, and later received the Center for Auto Safety's Lemon of the Year award. Standard was Chrysler's 225 cu in (3.7 L) slant six with a single-barrel carburetor, with 318 cu in (5.2 L) or 360 cu in (5.9 L) V8s optional, both two-barrel; for 1977 an optional "Super Six" with a two-barrel carburetor arrived; for 1980, at Lee Iacocca's insistence, both were restyled with Dodge Diplomat front sheet metal, the 360 was dropped, the 318 two-barrel went from 140 hp at 4,000 rpm to 120 hp at 3,600, the four-barrel from 140 to 155 hp at 4,000 rpm and the single-barrel slant six produced 90 hp at 3,600 rpm. Production ended in early 1980 with the last car (an R/T) leaving Dodge Main Assembly, which closed the same day; they were replaced by the K-car Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant. Coupé wheelbase 108.7 in, sedan and wagon 112.7 in, width 73.3 in. Dodge Aspen production was 189,900 in 1976, 266,012 in 1977, 166,419 in 1978, 121,354 in 1979 and 67,318 in 1980; the R/T and Super Coupe packages are catalogued as their own generations.
Collectors Spotted in the Dodge Aspen Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Dodge Aspen yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
7 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aspen 225 "Super Six" two-barrel I6 (from 1977) | 1977–1979 | 3.7 L Inline-6 | 110 hp | 180 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Aspen 225 slant-six I6, 1-bbl (1976–1979) | 1976–1979 | 3.7 L Inline-6 | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Aspen 225 slant-six I6, 1-bbl (1980, 90 hp) | 1980–1980 | 3.7 L Inline-6 | 90 hp | 165 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Aspen 318 LA four-barrel V8 (1980, 155 hp) | 1980–1980 | 5.2 L V8 | 155 hp | 240 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Aspen 318 LA two-barrel V8 (1976–1979, 140 hp) | 1976–1979 | 5.2 L V8 | 140 hp | 245 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Aspen 318 LA two-barrel V8 (1980, 120 hp) | 1980–1980 | 5.2 L V8 | 120 hp | 245 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Aspen 360 LA V8 (1976–1979) | 1976–1979 | 5.9 L V8 | 170 hp | 280 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
An estimate, for the Aspen 225 "Super Six" two-barrel I6 (from 1977) trim: fuel on its EPA figure and a dated national price, upkeep on a per-mile average for the kind of car it is.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Dodge built just 531 Aspen Super Coupes for 1978, each one forced into the same dark-brown paint with matte-black fenders and roof, no other color was offered.
A handful of 1976 Dodge Aspens ran gas turbine engines instead of V8s, as US Department of Energy test mules chasing cleaner, more efficient propulsion.
The very last car to ever roll off the line at Detroit’s legendary Dodge Main Assembly plant was a Silver Metallic Aspen R/T, before the factory closed that same day.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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