Chrysler Crossfire

The Crossfire is a rear-wheel drive, two-seater sports car marketed by DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler marque — replacing the Plymouth/Chrysler Prowler as the halo vehicle in Chrysler's range. The car is built for DaimlerChrysler/Chrysler LLC by Karmann in Germany and shares 89% of its components with other Mercedes models. The chassis is a combination of a modified C-class engine compartment, pre-2003 SLK floor pan, S-Class rear linkages and new stampings for the side rails and rear. It is available as a coupé and as a roadster.

The car first arrived in the public spotlight as a 2001 concept car designed by Eric Stoddard. The design was further refined by Andrew Dyson before being put into production in 2003.

Name

The name Crossfire comes as a reference to the distinctive character lines that run from front to rear through the body sides. They create a surface that is upward facing as it passes over the rear fender, but they cross mid-way through the door to form a downward facing surface as they reach the front fender. With the car sharing elements from Chrysler and Daimler-Benz, the name refers to their collaboration — not to be confused with the crossover genre of vehicles.

Features

The standard transmission is a 6-speed manual, and a 5-speed automatic is optional. Base Crossfires, originally sold beginning in the 2004 model year, are equipped with a 3.2L, 18-valve, SOHC V6 engine which produces 215hp (160kW) and 229lb·ft (310N·m) of torque.

Sales

The sales of the Crossfire have been slow, with an average 230 day supply of the vehicles as of November 2005. The Crossfire has been outselling its predecessor, the Plymouth/Chrysler Prowler ever since. In December, the cars were listed on Overstock.com to clear out inventory. Very few Crossfires were imported to the United States and Mexico for 2006 (and almost all of these were roadsters). The Crossfire was discontinued for 2007 in the United States and Mexico; however, a 2007 model continued in Europe and Canada. For model year 2008, the Crossfire was re-introduced in the US market, despite slow sales.