Chrysler may build poor man's Phantom

Chrysler is on the verge of a decision as to whether it will build the gargantuan Imperial concept it revealed at January's Detroit motor show.

"The development teams have gotten us all the information we need to make a decision," Frank Klegon, Chrysler group product development chief, was quoted as saying in a recent interview with respected US journal Automotive News.

Klegon said a decision could come before the end of this year or in the first quarter of 2007, according to the AN report.

The Imperial certainly made waves at the Detroit motor show, but not all those who saw it were enamored with its Rolls-Royce-wannabe styling.

The bulbous rear end, bluff grille and low-profile glasshouse unashamedly mimic the Phantom, and Chrysler undoubtedly plans to use this visual similarity to lure status-conscious large-car buyers.

Economies of scale would be achieved by basing the Imperial on the same platform as the existing 300C (which itself uses many components from the previous-generation Mercedes E-Class).

The 300C is no minnow, but the Imperial is substantially larger, measuring some 450mm longer and around 150mm taller. Its wheelbase is also 75mm longer, so rear-seat legroom should be nothing less than generous.

The Detroit show concept rode on 22-inch wheels, but the production version (if there is one) is likely to ride on slightly smaller hoops.

Power will come from the 250kW/525Nm 5.7-litre V8 Hemi engine already sampled locally in the 300C and Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Entry into the large sedan is achieved through B-pillar-less doors that welcome occupants into a cabin bedecked in leather, California burl wood and satin-finished aluminum. Many of the components inside are handcrafted and set off by a bath of warm interior accent lights.

A US industry analyst told AN that production of the Imperial, codenamed CY41, should begin in early 2009 as a 2010 model.

Could we see it here? Entirely possible; Chrysler has found a strong local following with the 300C (1561 sales until the end of October this year), so it may be tempted to venture further upmarket with the Imperial.