2006 Chrysler Crossfire

While the appearance of Crossfire is the lure to attract the hearts of sports car fans worldwide, it has been designed to be much more than just a pretty face. The goal was also to produce a genuine driver's car, the ultimate expression of the Chrysler brand essence, and a true reflection of the brand's core values: expressive, confident, romantic and refined.
'Chrysler Crossfire offers technology, handling and performance wrapped in a dramatic and refined package. I'm sure that Crossfire will become an icon for the Chrysler brand,' said Thomas Hausch, Executive Director of International Sales and Marketing, Chrysler Group. 'The front end of this coupe will engrain itself on the public mind as the new Chrysler face, and the way it drives will be the yardstick for future Chrysler products.'
Crossfire is available in international markets in both left- and right-hand drive, and the Chrysler Group plans to build 20,000 Crossfire vehicles per year, with approximately 15 per cent of production destined for markets outside North America.
Crossfire, which was developed by Chrysler Group's USA-based Advance Vehicle Engineering team, is built in Germany in collaboration with Karmann, one of the world's leading full-service suppliers to the motor industry.
The production Crossfire is broadly similar to the showcar of the same name, first exhibited at the North American International Auto Show in January 2001 and later at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2002.
Press and public reaction to the car was so positive that just a few weeks after its Detroit debut, a team of DaimlerChrysler engineers was assembled and followed a brief to examine existing vehicles, components and systems. They identified those that, together with some entirely new components, could be employed to build Crossfire in just two years.
The over-riding criteria behind the selection process of the Advance Product Creation group, within Chrysler's Advance Vehicle Engineering team, was that Crossfire should look as much like the showcar as possible, and perform to (or if possible beyond) the expectations that those exciting looks had generated.
Now, two years later, Chrysler Crossfire is ready for the road. The spirit and dominant aesthetic features of the original have been retained or even exaggerated.
Crossfire Delivers Power and Performance
Fitted with Chrysler Group's own design of air-intake and exhaust systems – to best fit the available space as well as give the car its own unique intake/exhaust soundtrack – the 3.2-litre V-6 engine powering Chrysler Crossfire is manufactured at DaimlerChrysler's V-engine plant in Untertuerckheim, Germany.
This all-aluminium, SOHC, 18-valve engine weighs just 140 kg and produces 160 kW and 310 Nm of torque. Light, responsive, smooth-revving and ultra-reliable, the 90-degree power unit promises to deliver sparkling performance in the 1388-kg Crossfire.
For effortless performance, the V-6 is designed to deliver high torque across a broad band of engine speeds. While maximum torque is generated at just 3000 rpm, over 90 per cent of maximum torque is available from 2600 to 5300 rpm, and 98 per cent is available from 3000 to 4500 rpm.
The combination of engine power, balanced weight distribution, suspension design and generous tyre sizes enables Crossfire to deliver sensational performance on straight or winding roads. Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) takes just 6.5 seconds. Crossfire has an aerodynamically limited top speed of 242 km/h.
Crossfire's wheels and tyres are staggered in size, like those of a race car, narrower at the front for crisp steering and wider at the rear to transmit more power to the road surface. Their large diameter (wheels are 18-inch front, 19-inch rear) and generous tyre width (225-mm front, 255-mm rear) give the car four giant 'footprints' or contact patches to generate immense grip and very high cornering forces – over 1.0 G lateral force on a dry surface as tested on skidpads in Germany.
The standard transmission for Crossfire in Japan is a five-speed automatic transmission, which features a driver-adaptive shift logic, full automatic or AutoStick® shiftless manual gear selection, a lock-up torque converter and selectable standard and winter modes.
Crossfire's fully independent front suspension uses double wishbones mounted on the bodyshell, with coil springs, gas-filled shock absorbers and a 25-mm anti-roll bar. The suspension design features anti-squat and anti-dive geometry. This set-up achieves minimum toe and camber changes under hard acceleration and braking, and delivers good straight-line stability even on bumpy roads.
At the rear, the five-link suspension features coil springs, gas-filled shock absorbers and a 19-mm anti-roll bar, and anti-squat and anti-dive geometry are employed.
Seven spoke, satin silver paint-finished aluminium alloy wheels, along with ultra-low profile Michelin Pilot Sport radial performance tyres, are standard fit. Front wheels are 18 inches in diameter, rears are 19 inches, while rim widths are 7.5 and 9.0 inches, respectively.
Safety and Security are Priorities
As appropriate for a car with Chrysler Crossfire's level of performance, the power-assisted braking system features large diameter ventilated front discs and solid rear discs, backed up by the highly sophisticated electronic wizardry of anti-lock brakes (ABS) and Brake Assist System.
The front brakes have 300 x 28 mm ventilated discs with single-piston floating callipers; the rear, 278 x 9 mm solid discs with opposed-piston fixed callipers. State-of-the-art, four-wheel, four-channel ABS is standard fit on Crossfire. When activated by heavy braking on a slippery surface, it applies and releases the brakes at a rate of 30 times per second, preventing wheel lock up and allowing the driver to retain steering control.
Brake Assist System (BAS) senses when a driver is braking in an emergency and immediately applies maximum available braking effort. BAS overcomes the human tendency not to brake hard, or soon enough.
While passive safety (accident avoidance) is a high priority with an agile sports coupe like Chrysler Crossfire, it has a full compliment of active safety equipment, which works in conjunction with the controlled deformation of the body structure to optimise occupant protection in 'real-world' accidents.
Accident avoidance technology fitted as standard to Crossfire includes the very latest developments in ABS, BAS and ESP® (Electronic Stability Programme) to help keep the car on the road and following the driver's intended course, even in the severest of weather conditions.
Sometimes a collision may not be avoided, and that is when Crossfire‘s Supplemental Restraint System assesses the severity of an impact to determine the appropriate responses. Three-point seatbelts with pre-tensioners and load-limiters are fitted, together with front and side air bags (mounted in each door) for driver and passenger, a knee bolster for the driver and special deformable padding in the headlining, covering all areas of possible head impact.
A remote keyless entry system controls the standard central locking which secures the doors, tailgate and fuel-filler flap. Automatic Central Locking can be selected; this activates the system when the vehicle's speed reaches 15 km/h. To aid exit and rescue following a collision, the doors unlock automatically a short time after a major deceleration is detected.
Crossfire is equipped with a Sentry Key® engine immobiliser controlled by a coded electronic transponder in each key fob supplied with the car.
An anti-theft alarm system sounds a siren (for 30 seconds) and flashes the headlamps (for three minutes) if an unauthorised attempt is made to open the doors, hood or tailgate, or to raise the car for towing. The tow-alarm may be deactivated to enable towing with the vehicle while locked.

Source - Chrysler