Chrysler Falcon

The Chrysler Falcon was a two-seater roadster concept car designed by Virgil Exner, and built by Chrysler for the 1955 model year. The car was never put into production, but many of the ideas and styling elements used in the Falcon would be used in other Chrysler designs. Some features would not appear for many years, like the exposed side exhaust pipes which would not be used in a Chrysler production car until the Dodge Viper in 1992. The name Falcon was originally intended to be the name of the Plymouth Valiant, but Ford Motor Company released a production car with the name first, after Henry Ford II requested use of the name.^[1] Chrysler agreed, scrambling to change it at the last minute with a contest among their employees.^[2]

Designed to be the basis for a competitor to the Ford Thunderbird and Chevrolet Corvette, the Falcon had a carbureted, cast iron, 276 cu in (4.52 l) overhead valve V8 engine, rated at 170 hp (127 kW), with 255 lb·ft (346 N·m) of torque, mated to a two-speed automatic transmission. With a weight of 3,300 lb (1,497 kg), it gave the car impressive performance for the time. For long time everybody believed only a single vehicle was produced, which was shown at several autoshows, and eventually it was sold to a private owner, but Ghia really built three copies. One is in the Chrysler Museum and another, originally painted dark blue with white soft top, was sold in the U.S. and sent to Venezuela, where it stayed for long time, after coming back to the United States. ^[3]

References

1. Witzenburg, Gary. "The Name Game", Motor Trend, 4/84, p.82.
2. Rearview Mirror: Automobile Industry History
3. A-Bodies: The Valiant Family, The 1955 Chrysler Falcon Concept Car