The marriage between Daimler and Chrysler failed, but it gave us some pretty amazing products, among them is the Chrysler Crossfire. It’s one of the best Chrysler cars we've seen in decades, available either as a coupe or convertible.
The Crossfire was and still is a great driver's car and continues to hold its value quite remarkably, and that could be because it is more German than American.
This car was based on Mercedes-Benz's R170 platform and built by the famous German manufacturer Karmann. Unfortunately, we saw just one generation of this unique-looking car, which was in production between 2003 and 2008.
The First Generation of Chrysler Crossfire
The first and the only generation of this sports car was offered in Australia between 2003 and 2008. It was available in two body styles – coupe and convertible. It had exclusive styling, strong performance, and a high level of refinement.
Design
The Chrysler Crossfire was designed as a small sports car that focuses on the driving experience, so it's no wonder it was offered either as a coupe or convertible.
The most intriguing part of its design in both cases was the styling. The car looked pretty from the front, in a typical sports car fashion, with a long hood and the brand's aesthetics of the time.
What really made it stand out was its rear end – it came with a combination of styles that were rather untypical for the era. Some of the highlights were things like a fastback roof, a boot-like rear end and massive rear-wheel fenders, creating a unique look that polarised public opinion immediately.
Not Just a Looker
The Chrysler Crossfire was much more than a fancy-looking car. It came with a refined chassis by Chrysler standards, which is not surprising since it shared most parts with Mercedes-Benz SLK. The two models rode on the same R170 platform, sharing the wheelbase, suspension setup, engines and even some interior elements.
Speaking of the suspension setup, the Crossfire featured a double-wishbone suspension at the front end, a five-point multi-link was installed on the rear end, and ventilated discs were on all four wheels.
Fun Fact about Chrysler Crossfire
One of the more interesting details about the Crossfire was that the front and rear wheels featured different sizes. This sports car was equipped with 18x7.5-inch rims and 225/40R18 all-season tyres on the front, while the rear used 19x9-inch rims and 255/35R19 all-season tyres.
Dimensions
The Chrysler Crossfire shared a lot of things with the SLK, so it’s no wonder it featured the same wheelbase as well. It featured 2,400 millimetres between the axles, while the overall length was around 4.06 metres. The car was 1,766 mm wide and measured 1,305 mm in height. It weighed approximately 1,400 kg.
Chrysler Crossfire Dimensions
- Height: 1,305mm
- Length: 4,059mm
- Width: 1,766mm
- Ground clearance: 125mm
- Wheelbase: 2,400mm
- Weight: 1,399kg
- Turning circle: 10.3m
- Rear track: 1,502mm
- Front track: 1,403mm
Engine
The Crossfire came with a Mercedes-Benz M112 3.2-litre engine, with a max output of 160 kW and 310 Nm of torque. The complete powertrain was borrowed from the German manufacturer. Base models were equipped with a sleek-shifting 6-speed manual transmission, while the well-known 5G-Tronic was available, too.
Of course, the car was rear-wheel drive, and the overall performance was pretty good by automotive standards of the time. The Crossfire needed less than 7 seconds to hit 100 km/h, regardless of the transmission choice, while the top speed was electronically limited to 250 km/h.
Chrysler Crossfire Engine Specs
- Engine Capacity: 3,199cc
- Number of cylinders: V6
- Forced Induction: -
- Fuel Type: Regular Unleaded Petrol
- Maximum torque: 310Nm
- Maximum power: 160kW
- Transmission: 6-speed manual, 5-speed automatic
- Acceleration (0-100km/h): 6.8s (manual); 6.9s (automatic)
- Top Speed: 250 km/h
- Fuel consumption: 9.9L/100km (combined)
Chrysler Crossfire Convertible
The 2004 Chrysler Crossfire brought a big novelty – the convertible. The overall design, particularly in terms of mechanics, was the same with the coupe version. The significant difference was in the power-retractable cloth roof.
We saw additional chassis reinforcements, which was typical for convertibles. This improved torsional rigidity but added some weight. You see, the convertible was 40 kilograms heavier than the coupe, resulting in slightly slower acceleration and higher fuel consumption.
Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6
After a couple of years, it was time for a more capable, high-performance version of the car. This model came in the form of Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6, and the first time we saw it in Australia was in 2006. Compared to standard models, it came with a more powerful, supercharged V6 engine, and it was available with a 5-speed automatic transmission only. Other than the powertrain, things weren't much different compared to base models.
The core of the SRT-6 model was the engine. It was the same 3.2-litre V6 engine, upgraded with a supercharger. As a result, the power went up all the way to 246 kW, while the max torque was increased to 420 Nm.
As expected, this resulted in much quicker acceleration, as the Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 needed just 5 seconds to complete a 0-100 sprint. The top speed was electronically limited to 255 km/h.
Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Engine Specs
- Engine Capacity: 3,199cc
- Number of cylinders: V6
- Forced Induction: Supercharger
- Fuel Type: Regular Unleaded Petrol
- Maximum torque: 420Nm
- Maximum power: 246kW
- Transmission: 5-speed automatic
- Acceleration (0-100km/h): 5.3s
- Top Speed: 255 km/h
- Fuel consumption: 10.9L/100km (combined)
Features
The Crossfire wasn't just a sports car but also a well-equipped car that competed in the premium segment. All versions came with leather upholstery, leather-wrapped steering wheel, Harman Kardon sound system with CD player, bucket sports seats, air conditioning, keyless entry, and more. Those were exclusive things back in the day.
All models also featured a power-retractable rear spoiler, while the power-retractable cloth roof was standard in the convertible.
Chrysler was also offering some upgrades for the Crossfire, such as a premium sound system with sub-woofers, navigation system and exclusive interior colour schemes, to name a few.
Why Was the Chrysler Crossfire Discontinued?
The Crossfire was discontinued after the 2008 model year, and slow sales were the main reason for it. While the sales in the first two years were pretty impressive and even exceeded Chrysler’s plans, sales drastically dropped after the third production year.
The fact that this was more a Mercedes-Benz than a Chrysler was another big reason for discontinuing it. Simply put, dealers were not happy that they needed to invest in special equipment, tools, and parts. All this provided additional costs to service just one model in the line-up.
Was the Crossfire a Success or Failure?
We can argue all day long, but there is no doubt that the Chrysler Crossfire is one of the more interesting cars of the era, making it a pretty valuable collectors’ item in the future.
Even today, its value is quite decent. So, if you have one of these sitting in your garage, you can refurbish to maintain its value or get a good sum selling it now or in the future.
If you’re interested, you can advertise your Chrysler Crossfire for sale on our website and get more interested buyers. Know more by signing up here!
By Nebojsa Grmusa