Chrysler knocks up Roles for proles (and an old school muscle car)
Newswheel staff :: 08 January 2006 :: Filed under Coupe, Saloon, Chrysler, Chrysler Imperial, Dodge, Dodge Challenger, Europe & UK, Trade shows, US,
[Click on an image to view]
DaimlerChrysler shows off two concepts based on 300C rear-drive platform
Leaked images of the Dodge Challenger have been doing the rounds for several weeks. So, these first official pics simply confirm what was already known. The Challenger concept is a real looker. But it’s not the only show car based on the 300C chassis that DaimlerChrysler will be wheeling out at the Detroit show. The Chrysler Imperial concept will also be competing for attention from press and punters alike. And it’s not an unsubtle copy of the Rolls Royce Phantom. Umm-kay?
At nearly five and a half metres in length the Imperial may be smaller than the 5.8-metre Rolls Phantom. But it’s still 43cm longer than the beefy Chrysler 300C, with which it shares a platform. Of course, Chrysler says the concept draws on the styling cues of Imperials past. And that may well be. But it’s also hard to imagine this particular Imperial would look quite as it does if the Phantom had never been built.
Phantom above, Imperial below. No, hang on…
Power is supplied by Chrysler’s familiar Hemi V8 in 5.7-litre, 340bhp trim. That’s an old school pushrod V8 lump, and hardly most refined or sophisticated powerplant in Christendom. But hey, maybe the skip-full of sound deadening Chrysler has fitted to the concept will do the trick. The Imperial’s five-speed auto box has been lifted from the Mercedes E-Class (as, of course, have many of the concept’s underpinnings – the 300C is itself based on a modified mid-90s Mercedes E-Class chassis).
As for the Challenger concept, it packs the same Hemi lump, but bored out to 6.1-litres and cranking out 425bhp and 420lb/ft. Chrysler reckons the concept, which is a full runner, should be capable of hitting 60 in just 4.5 seconds and steaming on to fully 174mph. Oh, and the transmission is a modern six-speed manual. No slush-box auto for this modern-day muscle car.
So, will either car make it to production? Over to Tom Tremont, vice president of advanced vehicle design for Chrysler. “These are strictly concepts, but we like to see people get excited because it might help make the case to take one or the other to production.” Same old, then.
Posted 08 November 2006, by ghf
f***in cool