Rear 3/4 very Aston
Back in 2005, the Chrysler lineup consisted of the 300, Crossfire, Pacifica, PT Cruiser, Sebring, and Town & Country.
So aside from the somewhat sporty Crossfire, the Firepower concept (which may be the most American-sounding name for a car ever) may have looked like it came out of left field.
The press release from the 2005 North American International Auto Show may only hint at it, but the concept's architecture is based heavily on the Viper. Despite that, the Firepower used a 6.1-liter Hemi V8 in place of the Viper's iconic V10.
Even with two fewer cylinders, the Firepower was reported to be good for 425 horsepower that was said to be capable of launching the car from zero to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds. Perhaps the biggest letdown, though, may have to be the car's only transmission option: a five-speed automatic with AutoStick.
Would the Firepower have been a promising injection of sportiness in the company's lineup, or is better that Chrysler axed the idea by the end 2006?
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Rear 3/4 very Aston
The automatic-only idea was a bit of an odd choice. Perhaps they were trying to make this something like a downmarket alternative to the Mercedes SL? I think a Viper in a tuxedo would have been a better mindset, and would have called for a stick. The styling is pretty interesting, and it would probably have had less of the "fast pig" feel that an SL has.
Isn't the Cadillac SLX also automatic-only? Basically a luxo-vette?
In any case, the firepower always looked pretty cool. A shame only the dowdy crossfire amde it to production.
MadScientistMatt said:The automatic-only idea was a bit of an odd choice. I think a Viper in a tuxedo would have been a better mindset, and would have called for a stick.
I disagree. This is a boulevard cruiser. It would not be improved by a 3-pedal manual.
I think they should have just stuck a 727 Torqueflite in it and called it good to go.........
They should have made this because people whine so much about chrylsers that I could probably get one cheap by now
Patrick (Forum Supporter) said:They should have made this because people whine so much about chrylsers that I could probably get one cheap by now
Dang, that's almost exactly what I was going to say.
Would have, could have. But didn't
+ a whoopin' with the
=
Yeah, Aston did this a lot better. It's basically all Aston does. I can't imagine they would have sold many with a manual trans were this to have made it to market. The target demographic is, uh, Frank Sinatra were he still alive at the time? That sort of buyer doesn't want a clutch pedal to deal with at this point.
I think a hot rod Chrysler coupe with some chrome and glam to it would have worked better as a Challenger derivative and not Viper. NVH targets would probably have been easier to hit with a Challenger base as well as space & ergonomics. Might have lead to a fit & finish improvement for the Challenger in the process.
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