inhalation for the Chrysler Chronos came the way it might number to any car - loving dreamer . Flipping through pictures of old car , Osamu Shikado ’s eye fall upon a classic coupe . He was sure a modern interpretation of it would look great . The distinction here is that as a Chrysler Corporation interior decorator , Shikado ’s pipe dream can and do become world .
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It was his update of the 1953 Chrysler / Ghia D’Elegance show car that became the company ’s bold 1998 flagship construct , the Chronos . The splendid V-10 - powered sedan echoes the one - off coupe ’s proportions , oval grille , cut - in headlamps , jutting front fenders , and kat - similar rearward haunches.
" We ’ve been looking for geezerhood at the possibility of finding the correct product for a Chrysler flagship model , " said John Herlitz , Chrysler ’s vice president of design . " The Chrysler 300 construct auto , the Atlantic , Thunderbolt , and Phaeton all were prove pattern theses for the ultimate Chrysler ikon . This time we may have happen upon all the right chords . "
Chronos began in January 1997 the room many Chrysler Corporation concept cars start today : as a voluntary contention among designers . Shikado , whose even duties postulate output - car projects , consulted Chrysler ’s photo archive for estimation . He occur across scene of the elegant coupe built by Italy ’s Ghia coachworks under the instruction of Chrysler ’s 1949 - 1961 design tzar , Virgil Exner . Shikado said he was walk out by D’Elegance ’s " graven form , its front close , specially around the headlight sphere , and the grown chrome around the wheels . "
Shikado was wise to comprehend into Chrysler ’s past for the embodiment of its future , for he had little firsthand exposure to the guinea pig . give birth in Japan in 1955 , he grew up yearn to make low-toned - bulk exotics for an Italiancarrozzeria . That dream yearn while he project routine sedans at Toyota for 14 years . He quit in the other Nineties , chased caper lead in Europe for six weeks while his wife and two small fry remain in Japan , then remember a instructor from a 1985 sabbatical at California ’s Art Center College of Design . The teacher had Chrysler connexion and Shikado ship a sketch and 10 sketches of his vision for succeeding Chrysler vehicles . He was hired in 1994 by Neil Walling , Chrysler director of advance design .
Shikado initially drew Chronos as a coupe modeled after Chrysler ’s stunning Bugatti - flavor 1995 Atlantic show car . intention studio chief Jack Grain evoke he try it as a sedan , and the effect gain ground the contender and was the centrepiece of Chrysler ’s 1998 auto show presentation . The car derives much of its impact from an impression of sheer size , though at 205.4 inches overall , it ’s only an column inch longer than the D’Elegance – and 3.7 inch shorter than the contemporary Chrysler Concorde . But its aviation of authority is undeniable , thanks to a low , dark roofline and the daring 131 - inch straddle between wheels , themselves an imposing 20 - inch in diameter in front , 21 in back .
Rendered in hand - work brand over a Concorde material body qualify to have rear - steering wheel drive , the $ 2 - million Chronos not only was a breathtaking static display , but a running game elevator car . Powering the 4,200 - pound sedan was a smooth 350 - H.P. , 6.0 - cubic decimetre overhead - cam V-10 wed from two 4.7 - liter Jeep Grand Cherokee V-8s . The all - autonomous suspension is derived from that of the Dodge Viper .
Swathed in hand - sewn leather and with hardwood panels , a center cabinet cigar humidor , and evocative white - faced orchestration , the elegant interior was not of Shikado ’s design . But the car ’s alloy wheels were , and they contain a Walling idea : Chrysler fly - emblem spinners rigged with rare - earth magnets so as not to rotate along with the wheels . It ’s a delightful touch .
Shikado has never watch the substantial D’Elegance ( it ’s on video display at the Blackhawk Museum in Danville , California ) , nor is he among the handful of engineer and diary keeper who have take the Chronos . The conception Chronos was never put into production , though Shikado allows that " I ’d care to see it build , but I probably would n’t be able-bodied to afford one . "
