1997 Chrysler Phaeton

A company can use its heritage to catapult itself to a higher level. Chrysler’s Hemi is a current example. Their 1997 Phaeton is another. With a charge led by product guys Bob Lutz and designer Tom Gale, Chrysler showed a series of stunning concepts in the 1990s, beginning with the original Viper.

Just as that Viper personified power, the Phaeton simply oozed classic elegance. Inspiration came from the 1940-41 Newport Phaeton, a limited-production classic of which Chrysler built only five. The two-cabin body rides on a whopping 132-inch wheelbase, about what you’d find under a crew cab, long-bed pickup. Wheels measure 22-inches in diameter. A proper V-12 resides under the long tapered hood, a product of melding two then-current Chrysler 2.7-liter V-6 engines.

With what Chrysler learned from its limited production Viper and Prowler product runs, could the Phaeton been a possibility? Might it have helped boost Chrysler’s status in the luxury field, just as the Viper did for Dodge? Especially given Chrysler’s current predicament, we will most certainly never know.

The Phaeton is on display at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum.