At the time of its debut, which took place in 2003, the Chrysler Crossfire looked a very unusual car. However, it remains so today. At that time such bright coupes as Nissan 350Z, Mazda RX8 and still till 2005 the first generation of Audi TT was produced. According to idea of marketers, a buyer of Chrysler had to be: – a man of 35 years old with annual income about $150,000. Yes, – $150,000, in fact, it was possible to buy a Porsche Boxster, or BMW Z7 E85, shown in 2002, for approximately the third part of this sum.
The Crossfire was supposed to be very unusual. Just look at the back of the car – doesn’t it resemble the stern of cars from the 40s, or 50s? Chrysler gave a lot of style and personality, but this car was also the product of a merger with Mercedes. The latter could be considered a virtue, but only if you don’t go into technical details.
Thus, the 2006 Chrysler Crossfire was produced on the basis of the first generation Mercedes CLK R170. Moreover, the new R171 just came out. In fact, Chrysler used the legendary, but outdated platform. Though adjusting of control settings was made at Nürburgring, the Crossfire could not be compared with new Mercedes in drivability.
But a potential buyer, who earns 150 k a year, could easily afford the Mercedes. Also under the hood of the Crossfire there is a gasoline V6 series M112 from Mercedes. Which has proved to be an excellent engine, but it was installed on Stuttgart trucks since the mid-90s. We’ll talk a bit about the technical part below, but I want to note that this motor can hold as much as 8 liters of oil! Thus, each maintenance will cost more, but it should be understood that the more oil in the engine, the longer it retains its properties.
Many people can be surprised, but this Chrysler was even assembled not in the USA, but in Germany. Though America was always the basic market for it. By the way – the debut of Crossfire took place on July 4, the day of Independence of America. The famous singer Celine Dion became the face of the advertising company, and the slogan of the company became “Created in America, made in Germany. The largest number of cars was sold in 2005 – 36 000. In 2004, 14,000 cars were sold, but in 2008, only 2,000 cars were sold. During the all time of production, 76,000 Crossfire were sold by 2008.
Sales and price of the 2006 Chrysler Crossfire.
Today on the secondary market of the first years of manufacture there are more cars than produced in recent years. This is probably due to the fact that by the end of production, demand for the Crossfire was gradually fading. Today you can buy a Chrysler Crossfire in good condition and with about 50,000 miles on it for $14,000. Many good, but high mileage examples sell for $7,000 to $10,000.
Appearance and photos.
Crossfire was produced in only one generation. The manufacturer offered coupe and roadster bodies. Despite the outdated platform, the body rigidity of the Chrysler roadster was one and a half times higher than that of the already produced since ’96 Boxster. This fact alone could be used by marketers and managers, but looking at sales figures, it becomes clear that it was not enough.
In my opinion the greatest effect in the appearance of Crossfire is created by the rear part of the car. First of all it is the mentioned bend in the area of the trunk lid. But I want to pay your attention to the rear fenders, – gas tank hatch on a fender as if it lies on the fender and opens upwards instead of sideways. I want to draw your attention to the Crossfire inscription on the stern of this car, – as if a horizontal line runs through the letters.
Although at first glance it is not visible, but I tried to show it in the photo – pay attention to the 6 stripes on the hood. Such a solution reminds of luxury boats from the past. And now look at the air vents in the front curls – how they remind of the Mercedes SL R230. Hardly such similarity could be considered a minus, but the Chrossfire was not a product sophisticated enough for the fans of cars from Europe (like those Porsche) and it did not have American power flowing from the V8 engine, which is so loved in the USA. Roughly speaking, the car was not suitable for any market. Though today it still has loyal fans who appreciate advantages of this car.
With a body length of 4058 mm (159.8d), the wheelbase is 2400 mm (69.5d). Weight distribution is almost ideal – 55% of the weight is on the front axle and 46% is on the rear axle. Front tires are 225/40 ZR18 and run on 7.5-inch rims, rear tires are 255/35 R19 and run on 9-inch rims. The powerful SRT variant features its own, multi-spoke, wheel rims.
One of the Crossfire’s features is a rear spoiler that automatically extends at 100k miles per hour and lowers at 60k miles. If it malfunctions, when it reaches 140km per hour, the car gives special, audible signals, signaling that the spoiler is not up. Such an antifender was already used on expensive supercars at the time, but such a solution was not used on relatively affordable sports cars. The two exhaust system spigots were centered on the car – this was also an unusual solution in the niche of not expensive sports cars. In basic equipment, the car had a black windshield frame and black plugs instead of fog lights.
Interior and equipment.
Just from the photo you can notice the symmetrical, front fascia. Here we should say that this Chrysler was also sold in England, and as you know there is left-hand traffic. Pads on the sills with the inscription Crossfire remind you which car you sit in.
Already in basic equipment Chrysler is equipped with dual-zone air conditioning and electric seats. The driver’s seat can be adjusted in eight directions, and the passenger seat in four. The center console is trimmed with silver plastic, which is supposed to mimic aluminum. Partly, taking into account that this car was also sold in Europe, I think you can say that in quality of finishing materials Chrysler certainly loses to BMW, or Porsche. The basic equipment had black door speaker surrounds, and the interior was raggy. That said, the Crossfire seats in the base version had separate headrests, while the seats on the more expensive cars had a one-piece backrest with a headrest. SRT6 versions are marked in the headrest area.
The more expensive cars are equipped with Infinity music system with 240-watt amplifier.
The luggage compartment holds 215 liters, which is certainly not much by the standards of conventional cars, but not bad by the standards of the class. The trunk has a high, loading height, and the floor is not flat, but the greater interest is the opening of the trunk – it is not wide and almost vertical.
Engine and specs for the 2006 Chrysler Crossfire.
As we said above, under the hood of this Chrysler is a Mercedes V6. It is a 3.2L engine with three valves per cylinder (two intake and one exhaust) and one balancer shaft. This engine has a maximum power of 215hp at 5700 rpm and torque of 310Nm at 3000 rpm. The engine can be coupled to either a six speed manual transmission or a five speed automatic transmission. With manual transmission this Chrysler could go from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.5 seconds, and reach a top speed of 242 km/h.
As you see, the dynamic performance of the Crossfire was not inferior to most of the sports coupes of its time. By the way, you can see the inscription Crossfire on the decorative cover made of plastic, which covers the engine. Perhaps this is a reminder for the owner that despite the engine from Mercedes, it is still Chrysler.
It is somewhat unusual that the steering is not rack and pinion, but the worm steering. This steering mechanism is not so accurate, but it is more reliable and almost does not require attention. The front brake discs have a diameter of 300mm, the rear – 278mm. The hub bearings here are not ball, but needle, so they require periodic tightening, but have a long service life.
The most powerful, equipped with a mechanical compressor modification – SRT6, was equipped exclusively with an automatic transmission. This is a very reliable gearbox, which has no problems to withstand loads up to 1000N.M. Thanks to the boost of 1 bar it was possible to achieve 330 hp and torque of 420N.M. With such an engine Chrysler was already a very fast car by the standards of the class. The rear-wheel drive Crossfire could reach 100 miles in 5.2 seconds, and the top speed was 255 miles per hour.
It’s a very stylish and actually fast car. It may not have the refined handling of a Porsche, but the Crossfire is blessed with a completely unique charisma. Today, these Chrysler on the roads are less common than before and this fact increases the exclusivity of the car. It’s just the thing for those who want to stand out on the road, or for the car enthusiast who loves unusual cars.
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