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1970 Chrysler Cordoba de Oro

Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970 - Photo: Karl Ludvigsen
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970 - Photo: Karl Ludvigsen
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970 - Photo: Karl Ludvigsen
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970 - Photo: Karl Ludvigsen
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970 - Photo: Karl Ludvigsen
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970 - Photo: Karl Ludvigsen
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970
Chrysler Cordoba de Oro, 1970
Images: Chrysler; www.chicagoautoshow.com; www.v8buick.com; Revs Institute Archives
Rating:  39    -11    +50
Styled by Elwood Engel
Inside the Chrysler exhibit space, a large crowd surrounds the raised revolving platform with the Chrysler Cordoba de Oro as center of attention. A female model is speaking to the crowd, with the driver’s door opened. A design exercise by Elwood Engel, Chrysler’s styling chief, the Cordoba de Oro has a strong wedge profile. Its cantilever roof had no A-pillars and the rear spoiler raised automatically.

www.chicagoautoshow.com


At the July club meeting, one of Chrysler’s more unusual show cars was mentioned, the Cordoba de Oro.

Chrysler has displayed quite a number of show cars over the years. In 1970 Chrysler showed a very wedge shaped car, the Cordoba de Oro. It was styled by Elwood Engel and featured a cantilevered roof with no A pillars. In this fashion it harked back to the Norseman of 1956, which also featured a cantilevered roof. The Norseman was a Virgil Exner creation, Engel’s predecessor as styling chief at Chrysler.

The Cordoba de Oro had some unusual features with a thermostatically controlled air intake and experimental headlights. It was built on the standard Chrysler wheelbase of 124 inches. The production 1975 Chrysler Cordoba was quite a different car, being an intermediate with a 115 inch wheelbase.

The Norseman was built by Ghia in Italy, who had a long association with Chrysler that was only terminated when Ford purchased Ghia. Exner had wanted to do rollover tests on the car, but it suffered a much more dramatic fate. Unfortunately the Norseman never made it across the Atlantic. It was shipped on the Italian liner, Andria Doria. That liner collided with a freighter off the coast of Long Island and took the Norseman to the floor of the Atlantic. This must be one of the most bizarre ends for an experimental car.

I don’t believe that the elimination of the A pillar has been attempted in any production motor car since.

John G Huntington - www.cavoa.com
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