Twenty Years of Tomorrows - Chrysler
Chrysler Group Celebrates 20 Years of Modern Concept Vehicles
“Concept to reality” has become a term that epitomizes the Chrysler Group design philosophy, and many observers are hoping that it will apply to the company’s concept vehicles for 2007.
Chrysler Group’s latest concept vehicles clearly demonstrate a design tradition that has become a key strength of the company: an ability to design the coolest-of-cool concepts, which are as relevant as they are innovative.
This approach started with the Frankfurt Motor Show reveal of the Lamborghini-engined, cab forward-styled, four-door Chrysler Portofino concept sedan in 1987. Almost 20 years and more than 100 concepts later, this continuous development has helped Chrysler Group reinvent and maintain its reputation as a car company driven by design and engineering.
Concept vehicles have two major roles for the Chrysler Group: they showcase to management, the media and the public the potential future design direction for Chrysler Group cars and trucks, and they help to attract the best young designers in the world into its design studios.
Chrysler Group’s concept vehicle program allows designers to test new colors, features, vehicle size and segments. Concepts can also be showcases for new design cues, which often find their way into production on future vehicles – even if the entire concept vehicle does not.
Importantly, the designs that are revealed to acclaim and accolade at auto shows around the world each year are not just built to look good. That is where the company’s design-to-reality tradition really kicks in.
Not only does Chrysler Group produce concept vehicles that can actually be driven – especially by journalists for feedback and publicity purposes – but many ultimately become production vehicles within a few years of their first reveal. The latest example is the Dodge Challenger. First revealed as a concept at the 2006 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, it was announced that the Challenger will go into production in 2008.
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