NewCarBuyingGuide.Com

Engine As Tested: Standard 3.2-liter, Single Overhead Cam, 24-valves, V-6 cylinder, 215-horsepower at 5700 rpm and 229 lb-ft torque at 3000 rpm.

Transmission As Tested: Standard 5-speed Automatic with Autostick, 6-speed Manual.

Fuel Economy (city/hwy): Manual 18/27, Automatic 21/27

Standard Safety Features: Driver and front passenger, front and Supplemental door-mounted thorax side airbags, Antilock Braking System, remote keyless entry, tire pressure monitor, Traction Control.Security alarm system with tow-away protection, Sentry Ke engine immobilizer

Competition: Infiniti G35 Coupe, Nissan 350Z, BMW Z4, Mercedes-Benz SLK, Ford Thunderbird

LAKE CAYAMACA, Calif. -- Stomp that throttle on rare straight stretches but tap the brake before turning into all of these tight curves as we rip up California 79, a wiggly line of wrinkled asphalt that climbs over humps of the Laguna Mountains to scenic Lake Cuyamaca pitched about a hundred miles east of San Diego.

The vehicle selected for this romp across pine-covered mountains amounts to a spirited new rear-wheel-drive (RWD) premium sports coupe from the Chrysler brand of DaimlerChrysler that merges slick American car styling with precision automotive engineering direct from Germany.

Chrysler calls it the Crossfire. The name comes from the crossing of two creased character lines etched into the car's flanks above fender gills strafed by satin-silver streaks.

Cast low against the pavement on big wheels with sculptured body lines raked across an exaggerated hood and over the rounded roof to a bulbous boat tail rump, Crossfire looks at first blush like a car designer's homage to streamlined automobiles from the Thirties in the artistic era of Art Deco.

Yet with its exuberant six-pack engine and the stiff chassis linked to a taut suspension and precise steering system, the retro-styled Crossfire feels as contemporary as a sporty German two-seater from Chrysler's DaimlerChrysler sibling, Mercedes-Benz.

As a matter of fact, the front section of the floor pan plus mechanical components including engine, gearbox, steering column and suspension control arms come out of cars that wear the tri-star Mercedes badge.

And Crossfire is assembled in Germany at the Osnabruck shop of Karmann Coachworks, a car-crafting partner of long standing with Mercedes-Benz and DaimlerChrysler.

However, styling for the package, a clever two-seat cockpit design plus components for suspension tuning come directly out of Chrysler in North America.

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