While looking online for a cheap old sports car, you may have stumbled upon something called a Chrysler Crossfire. It's cool-looking and cheap, but your friends tell you to stay away. So what's the deal with this automotive dropout?
The Crossfire is rear-wheel-drive with a coupe roof and a V6 engine, which sounds perfect. It's also closely related to the Mercedes SLK-Class. Good, right? But like many American cars of that era, it tries to evoke the spirit of European rivals without any of the substance. This problem plagues the industry to this day, as American-made cars feel built to last only as long as the warranty, which extends to domestically-made German or Japanese brands too.
The engineering is where everything falls apart. You don't have the direct steering feel of a German car, and the many features feel rushed. It doesn't handle, won't deliver in the soundtrack department and stops nothing like a Porsche rival.
It's not all bad news, because we're actually fans of the styling. Jeremy Clarkson is famous for saying the back end looks like a dog taking a poo and arching its back. But that's not fair. Lots of classics had this back end, but automotive artist The Sketch Monkey still had a few things he wanted to improve.
Modernizing the back end of the Crossfire requires him to tackle the taillights. Technology has moved on, allowing companies to make them narrow and sexy. The modernized Chrysler coupe actually looks like a Cadillac now, or maybe the batmobile from the 90's cartoons, but that's because of the Art Deco styling was used.
After strengthening some character lines and working with the rear diffuser to make it sporty, this 2019 Crossfire looks ready for the showroom. We wonder if a modern $50,000-ish Chrysler sports car would sell today if it had Mercedes engines and interior bits.
The engineering is where everything falls apart. You don't have the direct steering feel of a German car, and the many features feel rushed. It doesn't handle, won't deliver in the soundtrack department and stops nothing like a Porsche rival.
It's not all bad news, because we're actually fans of the styling. Jeremy Clarkson is famous for saying the back end looks like a dog taking a poo and arching its back. But that's not fair. Lots of classics had this back end, but automotive artist The Sketch Monkey still had a few things he wanted to improve.
Modernizing the back end of the Crossfire requires him to tackle the taillights. Technology has moved on, allowing companies to make them narrow and sexy. The modernized Chrysler coupe actually looks like a Cadillac now, or maybe the batmobile from the 90's cartoons, but that's because of the Art Deco styling was used.
After strengthening some character lines and working with the rear diffuser to make it sporty, this 2019 Crossfire looks ready for the showroom. We wonder if a modern $50,000-ish Chrysler sports car would sell today if it had Mercedes engines and interior bits.