Chrysler Crossfire: Spotted

For £3,500, will this Spotted have you ducking for cover or returning fire?

When, many years ago, Daimler-Benz and Chrysler briefly jumped into bed together, one of the few outcomes of their union was this Crossfire, a Chrysler on the surface but primarily a Mercedes-Benz underneath.

It's fair to say it was never stunningly popular, though, so you might be asking what the hell is it doing here, on these hallowed pages? Well this tail-less lizard of a car can go from 0 to 60mph in 6.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 155mph, and the one we've found is only £3,500, so the bang for buck is good. Yes, there might be more than a whiff of the faux hanging over its love-it-or-hate-it looks, but those figures are quite hot, even if it admittedly takes a whopping and decidedly thirsty naturally aspirated 3.2-litre V6 to achieve them.

To add to its straight-line speed it's also a structurally stiff car, and as a result it rides surprisingly well and could reputedly corner in excess of 1.1g, which was mightily impressive when it was new and still pretty good today. This is no sports car, though - its steering is too slow for that - but clever details that make driving fast a pleasure abound. For example, the car's shape (drawn by an Englishman, incidentally) is not only controversial it's also aerodynamic, with an adaptive tail spoiler and cleverly sculpted undersides shaped to induce downforce. It's also pleasingly absent in the front and rear overhang department. There was even a convertible version, too, should you want your hair ruffled.

However, if for some reason you don't fancy the prospect of owning an American car then you can always truthfully tell people that most of this Brit-designed Chrysler is an old Merc SLK, and it was actually made by Karmann in Germany.

This one comes with a year's MOT. It'll cost a lot to run, of course, and rust can be a killer. It's also a manual, which will admittedly please some but might ultimately detract from the car's pleasantness, much as it would in the equivalent SLK - the five-speed auto's probably a better bet.

Of course you might consider that so is an old Audi TT or a BMW Z4, or even the original SLK itself - and you might be right - but none of those have names that roll off the tongue with quite the alliterative suavity of this unusual Chrysler.

SPECIFICATION - CHRYSLER CROSSFIRE

Engine: 3.2-litre V6
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 215@5,700rpm
Torque (lb ft): 229@3,000rpm
First registered: 2004
Recorded mileage: 82,000
Price new: £27,260
Yours for: £3,500

See the full ad here.

Mark Pearson