Chrysler needs a supercar

"ptak appreciates old racecars" (racecarptak) 01/22/2015 at 00:36 • Filed to: fca, fiatsler

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I for one wished Chrysler Mercedes greenlit the ME-412 or the Firepower.

Both were gorgeous, gorgeous automobiles with giant engines that gave Chrysler some prestige, and one almost got built. It seems like a great lost opportunity to me, I can't help but wonder what a new Chrysler supercar would be like.

Considering Fiatsler seems to be treating their American half nicely these days (Dart & 2014 200, promising them RWD Alfa platforms, reviving the Grand Wagoneer, etc.), I can see this happening. Maybe?

Thoughts, Oppo?

TheHondaBro > ptak appreciates old racecars 01/22/2015 at 00:47

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Didn't the 412 have some insane quad-turbo V12?

Cherry_man1 > TheHondaBro 01/22/2015 at 00:49

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if it did the VW group stole it and put it in an oversized bug

Aaron James > ptak appreciates old racecars 01/22/2015 at 00:50

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I think the fact that the viper is just limping along with a few sales here and there pretty much rules out any further leaps into the high performance sports/super car world.

TheHondaBro > Cherry_man1 01/22/2015 at 00:51

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Well they mushed two V8 engines for the big Beetle, which is still bonkers.

ptak appreciates old racecars > Aaron James 01/22/2015 at 00:52

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True, but they did make the Hellcats, and from what I hear they want to stick it in a Grand Cherokee, so that counts for something.

SlickMcRick > TheHondaBro 01/22/2015 at 01:00

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Ford GT90 did if first. Nobody else counts

Axial > Aaron James 01/22/2015 at 01:01

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A Chrysler take on the Viper would be a more luxurious vehicle which, when we account for the near-inevitable inclusion of some form of automatic, would probably allow it to better compete against the likes of Porsche, Aston Martin, Maserati, etc.

The Viper is a niche product within an already niche market segment.

TheHondaBro > SlickMcRick 01/22/2015 at 01:03

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Hate to break it to ya, Slick, but...

Jedidiah > Axial 01/22/2015 at 01:10

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Place Hellcat V8 and auto in Chrysler body on Viper chasis. Insert luxury interior bits that can be optional extras on the viper.

Brian, The Life of > ptak appreciates old racecars 01/22/2015 at 01:25

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Fiat already sells super cars.

Wait, what?

Axial > Jedidiah 01/22/2015 at 01:25

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Whole interior would have to be redone, but essentially yes.

Chrysler, I think, has serious potential as an up-scale brand. I sincerely think FCA is making a huge mistake by relegating them to econobox status in favor of trying to revive Alfa. It's just another case of a foreign overlord essentially fleecing the American brand to bolster their national brands, just like Mercedes did. Seriously, fuck Alfa. Nobody outside of enthusiast circles cares about Alfa in America.

Chrysler has the chops to be more of a luxury brand. Really, they do. They're always getting starved for cash by their masters, though, and so they suffer. Out of all of the US domestic brands, I think Chrysler makes the best-looking vehicles with some of the most refined features. Their 8-speeed, 9-speed, PentaStar V6, UConnect...all are pretty great. The pre-2015 300? Unrivaled by any other American sedan in attitude, comfort, and options. The new 200 practically competes with Cadillac, if only they tuned the handling to be more driver-oriented.

/saltyoverFCA

Jedidiah > Axial 01/22/2015 at 01:31

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I agree with everything you've said. Theres a reason why Alfa was not successful in the US, but Chrysler was. Stick with what is profitable in your home markets and both companies will benefit from the alliance, but unfortunately Fiat isn't smart enough to do that.

Aaron James > ptak appreciates old racecars 01/22/2015 at 01:46

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The Hellcat sisters are great but they're not sportscars. A Hellcat 300 would be pretty sweet though.

Axial > Jedidiah 01/22/2015 at 02:02

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Oh, they are plenty smart. Unfortunately, I think they still see Chrysler as a competitor despite owning them, and will likely work to remove that competitor by supplanting it with the home-team ones. Alfa is going to take over for where Chrysler should have been while FIAT proper will kick them out of where FCA is trying to put them.

Actually, I think FCA might be taking a shotgun approach with it. They're going to boot Chrysler down to FIAT's level and see which one survives in America, then keep the survivor. Similarly, Alfa and Dodge might be eating at each other's markets when they finally get the ball rolling on the new platforms and the sharing, so they'll do the same there, too. They are also making a mistake by not turning Maserati into a Porsche competitor while leaving Ferrari as a purely high-end sports car vendor.

TL;DR: Waaaaay too much potential product overlap. That's a big part of what killed GM.

DConsorti > ptak appreciates old racecars 01/22/2015 at 06:38

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Considering the Viper, I doubt!

The only chance I see of something like this happening, is that GM make the mid-engine Corvette and Ford making the GT (check).

But I agree that they could use some "sister" company platform to make something very interesting

spanfucker retire bitch > ptak appreciates old racecars 01/22/2015 at 07:04

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It'll never happen. Between already having the Dodge Viper and FCA owning (duh) Ferrari, they have all the super cars they could possibly need.

Even more-so if you count Maserati. Though I'm not sure the Alfieri is a "super car" so much as it's just a really luxurious and great sounding sports coupe.

BigBlock440 > ptak appreciates old racecars 01/22/2015 at 07:58

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I agree that it would be awesome if they had one, but since Sergio wants to move Chrysler downmarket, it won't happen. Though Chrysler's been pretty tight lipped about new product (nobody knew about the Cherokee until someone took a picture of it coming off the production line, etc), so we can only hope they're working on it and trying to avoid pulling an Acura.

BigBlock440 > TheHondaBro 01/22/2015 at 08:02

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That's what the 412 stands for. Mid Engine 4 turbo 12 cylinder

Chteelers > ptak appreciates old racecars 01/22/2015 at 08:31

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Chrysler needs a *good* super car.

Fixed it.

PyramidHat > ptak appreciates old racecars 02/02/2015 at 00:44

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Emblem from a Sebring?

PyramidHat > ptak appreciates old racecars 02/02/2015 at 00:45

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Liking this. But it's what's underneath that counts. They can make good-looking vehicles, but then said vehicles are filled with suck.

ptak appreciates old racecars > PyramidHat 02/02/2015 at 04:00

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Both the inside and the outside count. In any case, good looks are proportional to suck. Take Jaguars and Alfas. Both gorgeous marques, were they reliable though? NOPE! ^-^