As another example of American muscle cars playing the cross-cultural game, this ’74 Dodge Valiant Super Bee is a rare specimen of an international-only make made by one of America’s “Big Three.”

The story behind the Super Bee Valiant is that it was built as Chrysler Mexico’s early-’70s, cost-effective alternative to the brand new generation of Challengers and ‘Cudas that were introduced in 1970. Different from Dodge’s “Super Bee” here on the home soil, the Mexican variant was based on Chrysler’s A-body platform. From ’70-72, the Super Bee Valiant shared the same front and rear with the Duster, but from ’73-’75, the Valiant received the Dodge Dart’s front-end while maintaining the Duster’s rear. The Valiant would be returned to the Duster/Valiant body for the 1976 production year.

Between 1970 and ’74, the Super Bee Valiant was offered with Chrysler’s 318 V8, producing 270bhp, and for ’76, the Super Bee would be offered with a 300-horse version of Chrysler’s 360 V8. Horsepower ratings from Mexico, at that time, were higher than they were here in the U. S., but that’s because Mexico’s anti-pollution laws were not nearly as strict as they were here in America. Though this portion of the 1970s is typically notorious for the “gas crunch” that badly-severed the performance auto market here in the States, this rare Valiant Super Bee is living, “breathing” evidence that there was still some shred of true, American muscle left in the later part of the ’70s.

Aside from the fact that this Valiant Super Bee is evidence of post-horsepower war, factory muscle, it’s also evident that the universal love of muscle cars really is one that’s universal.