Introduced for the 1984 model year, this was Chrysler’s short-lived entry into the sporty personal-luxury coupe market. It arrived during the brand’s front-wheel-drive era and was positioned as a more upscale, youthful alternative to its corporate sibling coupes, with a low, aerodynamic hatchback shape and a cabin aimed at buyers who wanted style and available performance without moving into a full sports car. The nameplate was offered in a brief first run only, and it remained on sale through 1986 before disappearing from the lineup.
The car is best remembered as a badge-engineered companion to other Chrysler Corporation performance coupes of the period, but it carried its own Chrysler identity and helped broaden the brand’s image beyond traditional sedans and luxury cars. Period advertising emphasized sophistication and technology, while enthusiast interest has centered on the rarer turbocharged versions and the model’s place in the company’s early-1980s design reset. In that sense, it reflected Chrysler’s effort to compete in a market that was increasingly influenced by compact, efficient, and aerodynamic imports.
Although the nameplate had a short life, it occupies an interesting niche in Chrysler history. It marked one of the brand’s more distinctive 1980s two-door efforts, sitting between the older big-car Chrysler image and the newer front-wheel-drive products that would define the rest of the decade. After 1986, the nameplate was retired and did not continue into a second production era.