The Newport name first appeared on Chrysler-built cars in 1950, when it was used for a pillarless hardtop version of the Town & Country and related Chrysler models. During the 1950s, Newport identified Chrysler hardtop body styles rather than a distinct standalone model, and the badge was associated with the brand’s early move into the increasingly popular roofline format that helped define postwar American styling. That early Newport usage ended after the 1956 model year.
The nameplate returned in 1961 as Chrysler’s entry-level full-size car line, positioned below the New Yorker and above the brand’s more mainstream offerings. This second Newport run became a long-lived mainstream Chrysler, changing through several generations and body styles over the 1960s and 1970s while remaining the company’s lower-priced full-size sedan and coupe. In its later years, the line was trimmed down as Chrysler’s big-car lineup contracted, and the final Newport was produced for the 1981 model year.
Because the Newport designation was used in two separate production periods — first as a 1950s hardtop name and later as a 1961–1981 model line — it should be treated as a revived nameplate rather than a single continuous run.