1932 Chrysler Series CL Imperial Cabriolet

Chrysler introduced the Imperial in 1926 to challenge Cadillac and the other domestic luxury cars. Intermittently throughout the company's history, Imperial has been the company's top-of-the-line offering, represented by many elegant and stylish automobiles.

In 1930 the Imperial was fully redesigned with a new 3833 cubic-inch inline 8-cylinder engine, a 4-speed synchromesh transmission, and 4-wheel hydraulic brakes. The Imperial was replaced in 1934 with the famous 'Airflow.'

Christian Bohman, originally from Sweden, and Maurice Schwartz of Austria partnered to build custom bodies for luxury cars in 1932 after each had learned the craft at the most prestigious coach-building firms of the time. Both had worked for the famed Walter M. Murphy of Pasadena, California, who built custom-bodied cars for the rich and famous, and carried on Murphy's skills when Murphy decided to get out of the business. Bohman & Schwartz went on to become a great company in its own right taking over the Murphy clientele and making beautiful, distinguished bodies for luxury cars for many years.

This Chrysler Imperial is the first car to be bodied by Bohman & Schwartz after the company was formed. It was built on speculation and is one-of-a-kind. Restored in 1993, it won Best in Class at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 1995. The car is authentic with known history since new and it is a CCCA 'Full Classic.'