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
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The Clarkson comment seemed enough to sway the British public away from these altogether. But they have an extremely loyal fan base in other parts of the world it seems.
The SRT version of the crossfire, is just the AMG SLK - and it is a s
t load faster; but a little more money. Upsides, Mercedes underpinnings. Still looks modern.
Downsides, where the Mercedes overengineering meets the Chrysler can be temperamental. E.g. spoiler activation, electrics, slow revving engine, plasticy dashboard.
Conclusion, the SRT6 is a beast when tuned but the NA is great for your missus to pony to the shops.
t off a shovel, my srt6 will beat modern mustangs in a straight line and handles just as well.....but then put it against a European sportscar like a modern z4, cayman or boxter and of course it doesn’t quire cut the mustard unless your going in straight lines. Now go to America, and while they look cool and retro, there isn’t a v8 option....so it’s not too popular and there’s not that many corners to warrant the better handling than American cars.So basically it’s too American to be European, and too European to be American. That said I love my crossfire, there’s only 45 in the country so insanely rare and smiles per pound there isn’t much out there to beat it.
This was a shock given I was driving a 2001 Alfa GTV V6 at the time!
I did like the exterior styling and it’s massive (compared to the Gtv) boot though!
Now if you can find an extremely rare SRT variant I might think again
That poor car.
Mechanically they really are a R170 SLK. The coupe, as stated in the article, has quite high torsional rigidity (I assume the addition of the roof to the SLK underpinnings). The slightly cheap feel, in places, is offset with very old school Mercedes attributes. The doors feel like they could support the cars weight if used as jacking points and it has a fairly solid feel in general.
Now, the way it drives... sports car it ain't. It's got the old, all-overseeing, Mercedes traction and stability nanny, and (in our case) a tiptronic autobox that can still override you when it knows best. I'll manually use 3rd and the torque for this apex to exit, cue gearbox, 'oh you've pressed the accelerator, you want 2nd,' cue kickdown, start of slide. Ok says I, I'll hang onto it, got plenty of room, traction nanny, 'no you won't,' slithery rocking motion, exit at 25mph swearing like fishwife.
This is being a bit harsh to be fair and only happens if you are being silly or pushing past 8/10ths but an Elise over a B road it will never be.
There is a massive upside though. If you want to make progress in an unruffled and smooth kind of way whilst being enveloped in a sea of woofly smooth V6ness, yes the old 12v 3.2 is one of the smoothest engines I've ever encountered, full stop, then this could just be the thing you need. The steering is not rack and pinion but a box. How old school Merc is that. As such it never kicks or bucks through the wheel no matter the road surface. It lacks a certain amount of feedback but somehow works, and works well. That gearbox, annoying as it is when you want to go loony, is smooth and has just the right amount of ratios to let the engine sing without the constant bap bap bap of a more modern one.
What this all adds up to is relaxing progress, at fairly high speeds if truth be told. What the Crossfire does, and does well is the GT thing. You can spend hours in it, without it ever becoming tiring. It has just enough to keep you engaged over a flowing A road when you want to but will just get on with the task of getting there briskly when you don't.
So think of it as a mini GT car and I reckon it's not a bad steer. The drive train has seen service in plenty of old S class Mercs to way over 250k so mechanically should be sound. Watch out for the rust and for £3.5k you get a cracking GT with old school Merc attributes, possible future classic (isn't everything these days), whats not to like.
What happened to ours? Wife replaced it, took some doing but 370z finally did it. My brother bought it and has had it since. Loves it.
Perhaps they need to have their own original thoughts ?
I had someone repeatedly do the TT/Gay/Hairdresser thing recently, musty have said it 7 times at me the other day looking for a rise from me, not specifically a Clarkson quote (he was a little more original on the TT, but in the same vein) he kind of then stopped the conversation and seemed to insist I replied to his ker-azy allegations, so I just asked if he wanted a haircut or a bumming, neither apparently.
So, Crossfire owners, I sympathise, and not about the car, which is actually a decent enough thing, just having to live with s
tting dog comments every day must get very, very tiresome.Cheap wheels, but being based on Merc underpinnings and quite rare, bills will be higher.
Not for me.
Why would that be ?
Its Merc bits underneath, loads of stuff available, cheaply in the main, pretty reliable, fairly under stressed V6 with a chain, plenty being broken now so second hand bits available and cant imagine you would need much beyond brakes, the odd suspension bits and throw an oil change at it occasionally.
To my mind, its a bit of a bargain if you dont expect too much and can live with the comments/like the looks. You can get one for £1200 to 2 grand if you dont mind a few miles, Some comedy priced ones, seven grand for a Crossfire, on which planet ?
Not sure I could though, they have a certain cheesy whiff/aura about them, all Chryslers seem to have it, sort of seem to attract lunatics nowadays, PT Cruisers with loads of chrome tat and 300 C "Baby Bentleys", they sort of had a bit of a buzz in early/mid 2000s but make me feel a bit queasy nowadays.
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