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2004 Chrysler Crossfire Compact Sport Coupe
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So what's the result of this intercontinental creation?
It's a sporty new coupe with German manners that's fun-to-drive but styled like no other vehicle on the road.
And it may well be the only car we can recall that looks best when seen from behind. The rear view exaggerates that boat tail treatment and curvy sweep of the hatchback roofline.
Shapely shoulders wrap around exaggerated wheelwells with 19-inch rollers in the rear but 18-inchers up front for a rump-high stance.
Fenders sheltering those larger rear wheels bulge wide to form a muscular ledge and wrap rearward around the oversized taillamps in a scheme that isolates the hatchback superstructure for emphasis.
Two squarish tailpipes coated in satin-finish chrome anchor the back bumper in the center spot, while above the bumper the hatchback window curves gracefully up into the sweeping roofline to reach the raked windshield.
From there the prow projects forward dramatically while sloping to a low-cast nose with louvered front grille pinned between corner sets of projector-style headlamps.
Flanks undulate with carved and chiseled lines highlighted by those fender gills scored by the slashes of chrome, which resemble twin streaks over fender gills on a daring 1954 300SL gullwing coupe, the work of automotive art by Mercedes that's one of the most distinctive car designs out of the Twentieth Century.
If all of that sleek body styling could translate to forward motion, Crossfire would fly. So it does.
It acts like a squatty go-kart, in fact, hunkering low on pavement with wheels pushed to corner points for keen stability and all torque from a powerful up-front engine flowing in classic arrangement to rear rubber for predictable and controllable traction.
And those tires seem to dance down the road due to the isolation of an independent suspension system rigged with upper and lower A arms up front tied to coil springs, gas-charged shock absorbers and a stabilizer bar plus at the rear a five-link arrangement with coil springs, link-type stabilizer bar and gas-charged shocks.
Crossfire's enthused engine factored by the relatively light curb weight of about 3000 pounds propels it into the fast lane.
In particular, Crossfire contains the 3.2-liter Mercedes V6 that also motivates many Mercedes models, such as the mid-size E320 sedan and sporty CLK and SLK coupes and convertibles.
The single-cam aluminum plant produces as much as 215 hp at 5700 rpm plus strong torque numbers of 229 lb-ft at 3000 rpm.
It translates that torque to power at the wheels through a notchy six-speed manual gearbox or an optional five-speed automatic coupled to Chrysler's AutoStick selective clutch-less shifter, where a flick of the stick, either left to downshift or right to upshift, switches one gear at a time.
Noteworthy mechanical tools aboard Crossfire include power rack and pinion steering for crisp turning control, plus power-assisted disc brakes tied to anti-lock (ABS) and all-speed traction control (TCS) systems, even a miraculous device -- called electronic stability program (ESP) -- that integrates brake and throttle intervention to check and maintain lateral stability.
And to enhance the stick-to-the-pavement traction at high speeds, a slick retractable spoiler integrated into the tail deploys above a designated speed of 50 mph to exert more aerodynamic force on the rear tires.
