Chrysler Crossfire 3.2V6
Overblown, overpowered and over here would be one way of describing the British attitude to American sports cars. Traditionally, cars like the Chrysler Viper, the Chevrolet Corvette and the Camaro have been big on power but low on quality and subtlety. Were a market that demands neat design, sharp driving dynamics and real-world running costs. America seems to have wised up.
The Chrysler Crossfire will change the way you think about the American sports coupe.
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The Crossfire mirrors this more Teutonic leaning. Fully 39% of the componentry is shared with the Mercedes SLK320 including the chassis, suspension and the drivetrain. Its even screwed together rather well as it happens at the Karmann plant in Osnabruck. So much for the American angle.
The Crossfire started life as a show car wowing the crowds at the 2001 Detroit Motor Show, most observers admiring designer Eric Stoddards striking lines but dismissing the Chrysler as the sort of flight of fancy that would never make production. Still, most figured the stunning Porsche Boxster, Audi TT, Mazda RX8 and Nissan 350Z show cars would be similarly stillborn and they made it to the showrooms and today they constitute the formidable rivals the Crossfire must beat. In July 2001 Chryslers Advanced Vehicle Engineering team, headed up by Larry Achram received the go ahead. The Crossfire was being fast-tracked into production.
In October the tie-up with Karmann was finalised and in January 2002 the production version was shown at Detroit. Eleven months later, production versions started rolling off the lines alongside the Mercedes CLK cabriolet and VW Beetle drop tops that Karmann also manufacture. The roadster model arrived hot on the heels of the coupe but its the fixed roof version we focus on here.
"The Crossfire is about as American as Moms Apfelkuchen"
The Crossfire signature design feature is the ridge on its flank that starts at the front wheelarch as an overhang and then twists Mobius-like into a shoulder, finally constituting the rear wing. The car is unusually proportioned, with a long bonnet, a surprisingly upright windscreen and a turret of a glasshouse perched atop that muscular body. The front and rear could only be American, the bluff egg-crate grille and the bold tailgate design being a bit OTT for traditionally understated Euro tastes although some of the detailing is undeniably Germanic. Take, for example, the side strakes that are reminiscent of the Mercedes SL55 AMG or the centreline rib that runs down the roof massively removed from the Vipers double bubble design.
Powered by a 217bhp 3.2-litre V6, the Crossfire coupe has a fair turn of speed, making 60mph in 6.3 seconds and running straight and true at an indicated maximum of 150mph. If thats not enough, theres a 330bhp SRT-6 model on offer.
Prices start at around £25,000 for the 3.2V6 we look at here, with a premium of just over £2,000 for the convertible Roadster version. Youll need over £34,000 for the SRT-6, so unless you really need the extra performance, the 3.2V6 is probably the better bet, particularly since it alone comes with the option of a five-speed automatic with tiptronic style control (for around £1,200 more).
Of the two transmissions on offer, the automatic is the preferable option, largely due to the fact that the manual is a disappointment. The long, vague throw of the gearchange coupled with a flabby clutch action takes much of the enjoyment out of winding the Crossfire up through the gears. Chrysler has worked at tuning the acoustic characteristics of the engine to generate more drama than the urbane SLK320 ever managed. With a combination of entertaining engine notes, cracks and bangs from the exhaust when you lift off, plenty of wind roar and tyre thrum, the Crossfire feels very alive.
Chrysler made a deliberate decision to put the biggest rubberwear they could get away with on the Crossfire and the massive 19-inch 255/35 series rear tyres generate enormous grip. Couple that with fat anti-roll bars, a multilink rear suspension and a body with massive torsional rigidity and you have a recipe for a car that corners flat and true. And so it proves. Although the steering isnt class leading the turning circle may well be visible from space - but the Crossfire just grips and goes through corners that would have many rivals raggedly probing the edges of the handling envelopes.
Deactivate the stability control system and youll need some determined buffoonery to relinquish grip. Whats perhaps more surprising is that the Crossfire rides so well. Although it tends to follow lateral ridges in the road so called tramlining the Michelin Pilot Sport tyres that Chrysler specified for the Crossfire were specially selected due to their relatively compliant sidewalls and as a result the ride quality is commendable. The constraints dictated by the compact SLK chassis mean the Crossfire isnt the most spacious coupe around.
Smaller drivers may well find the high window line claustrophobic whilst taller drivers may bemoan the fact that the steering column doesnt adjust for height. Having said that, the front seats have a huge Range of adjustment. The boot can most charitably be described as token, the meagre 215-litre capacity being accompanied by a stratospheric loading lip, a sliver of an opening aperture and the added problem of heat being transmitted via the exhaust system. The fascia is well executed with three chrome-ringed dials straight ahead of the driver, an attractive steering wheel and a high quality of fit and finish.
Standard equipment includes four airbags, heated and power operated leather seats, electric windows and mirrors, central locking and a 240 watt Infinity CD stereo with two subwoofers and six tweeters. Chrysler aims to shift 20,000 Crossfires a year. We think theyre being unduly cautious. As a fusion of Mercedes engineering and American design flair the Crossfire is quite unlike anything else.
As an outright sports car it comes up a little shy, but as a covetable coupe it cant fail.
Facts At A Glance
CAR: Chrysler Crossfire 3.2 V6
PRICE: £24,995 - £27,285 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 18-19
CO2 EMISSIONS: 256g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 6.3s/ Max Speed 150mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 24.2mpg (combined)
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twinfront and side airbags, ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height, 4069/1766/1296mm
