Chrysler Falcon Concept
I'm gathering copies of everything I know and putting them all in one place.
Interview with Joe Bortz
Chrysler Idea Cars
Joe Bortz Ghia Collection
Rides with Chuck: Chrysler '44 Thunderbolt and '55 Falcon
I'm gathering copies of everything I know and putting them all in one place.
Interview with Joe Bortz
Chrysler Idea Cars
Joe Bortz Ghia Collection
Rides with Chuck: Chrysler '44 Thunderbolt and '55 Falcon
From Conceptcarz.com
Virgil Exner left Studebaker in 1949 to head-up Chrysler's
Advanced Design Studio. While there, he combined his design excellence with the
craftsmanship of Italy's Ghia Coachworks. This combination yielded some of the
most beautiful and outrageous concept cars of the era.
One of the products of that partnership is the 1955 Chrysler
Falcon. The Falcon is similar in size to both the Corvette and Thunderbird. The
car, often considered one of Exner's best, rides on a shortened Chrysler 300
chassis. Power originally came from a 276 cubic-inch Hemi with 7.5:1
compression, producing 170 horsepower. The interior featured a split bench
style seat finished in burgundy leather, with a floor mounted shifter for the
two-speed PowerFlite transmission and a Nardi wooden steering wheel.
According to the current owner the Falcon is a completely
finished car, as opposed to a cobbled up show car. It drives well, accelerating
very strong, but behaving in a very docile and polished manner.
The Chrysler Falcon Concept, a two seat roadster, was
designed by Virgil Exner and built by Chrysler for the 1955 model year. The car
was never put into production but many of the design and styling elements would
later be seen in various other Chrysler vehicles. Many of the ideas would not
make it into production for many years, such as the exposed side exhaust pipes
on the Dodge Viper in 1992.
The Chrysler Falcon Concept was meant to be a competitor to
the Ford Thunderbird and the Chevrolet Corvette. Power was from a cast iron,
276 cubic-inch overhead valve V8 engine offering 170 horsepower and 255 lb-ft
of torque. It had a two-speed automatic transmission and the total package
weighed just 3,300 lbs.
The Chrysler Corporation initially intended the Falcon name
to be used for the Plymouth Valiant, but the Ford Motor Company released a
production car with the name first. Chrysler needed a new name so they designed
a contest among their employees to find a new name.
The car had power brakes, electric windows, and power
steering. It measured 182 inches long, stood 51 inches tall, and had a 105 inch
wheelbase. Inside, there were adjustable bucket seats, leather upholstery, and
concave inner door panels. It rode on wire wheels with simulated knock-off
hubs.
With the 276 cubic-inch overhead valve Hemi V8 engine, the
car had a top speed of about 115 mph. Zero-to-sixty took about 10 seconds.
By Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2014
1955 Chrysler Falcon Concept Specifications
Engine Location Front
Drive Type Rear
Wheel
Body Designer Exner
Weight 3300 lbs |
1496.855 kg
MPG City 13
MPG Highway 16
Performance
0-60 mph 10
seconds.
Top Speed 115
mph | 185.035 km/h
Engine Type : V8 4523 cc | 276.0 cu in. | 4.5 L.
170 HP (125.12 KW)
255 Ft-Lbs (346 NM)
V8 276
Transmission:
2 Automatic PowerFlite; floor-mounted shifter
Averages
Avg. Car Cost $1,900
Avg. Household Income $4,130
Avg. Home $10,950
Avg. Gallon of Gas $0.23
Chrysler Falcon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chrysler Falcon was a two-seater roadster concept car
designed by Virgil Exner, and built by Chrysler for the 1955 model year. The
car was never put into production, but many of the ideas and styling elements
used in the Falcon would be used in other Chrysler designs. Some features would
not appear for many years, like the exposed side exhaust pipes which would not
be used in a Chrysler production car until the Dodge Viper in 1992. The name
Falcon was originally intended to be the name of the Plymouth Valiant, but Ford
Motor Company released a production car with the name first, after Henry Ford
II requested use of the name.[1] Chrysler agreed, scrambling to change it at
the last minute with a contest among their employees.[2]
Designed to be the basis for a competitor to the Ford
Thunderbird and Chevrolet Corvette, the Falcon had a carbureted, cast iron, 276
cu in (4.52 l) overhead valve V8 engine, rated at 170 hp (127 kW), with 255
lb·ft (346 N·m) of torque, mated to a two-speed automatic transmission. With a
weight of 3,300 lb (1,497 kg), it gave the car impressive performance for the
time. For long time everybody believed only a single vehicle was produced,
which was shown at several autoshows, and eventually it was sold to a private
owner, but Ghia really built three copies. One is in the Chrysler Museum and
another, originally painted dark blue with white soft top, was sold in the U.S.
and sent to Venezuela, where it stayed for long time, after coming back to the
United States. [3]
The Chrysler Falcon was a concept that the notorious Virgil
Exner conceived of as an “everyman’s car” to compete with the Ford Thunderbird
and Chevrolet Corvette without being an expensive vehicle. The Falcon was meant to be something in
between a sports car and a daily driver.
Exner designed the specifications in 1952-53 and the Italians at Ghia
completed the bodywork design in 1954.
When shown in 1955, the Chrysler Falcon was meant to be a
pre-production prototype and nothing about the car was fanciful or unrealistic,
although it was labeled as the company’s latest in the Forward Look line of
show cars. Everything was ready for the
production line, but disagreements between the Design and Engineering
departments at Chrysler kept the car from ever entering production. Management and Engineering argued that they
already had the 1956 Chrysler 300 and Dodge D-500 coming, so another sports car
would be redundant. Mostly, however, the
issue was about curbing the growing power Exner was exuding over the company’s
direction.
Despite it’s “ready to build” design, the Chrysler Falcon
was an innovative car for the time.
Sadly, however, the Falcon name was eventually to label a small, boring
sedan from Ford instead of a beautiful car from Chrysler.
DESIGN OF THE FALCON
Exner specified the Chrysler Falcon concept would be built
on the company’s 105-inch wheelbase (109-inch chassis) using the manufacturer’s
A-Bodies line (the “Valiant Family”).
Originally, the Falcon was to be a Plymouth, but management moved the
concept to the Chrysler nameplate for marketing reasons. When clay models arrived at Chrysler HQ, Exner
knew he was on to something.
The final design of the Chrysler Falcon stood only 51.2
inches high and was one of the very few concepts Exner worked on that he named
himself. Despite its short height and
wheelbase, the Falcon totaled 182 inches in length, giving it a long, low
appeal.
The Falcon is beautiful from all angles. The Alfa-like base-shaped grille with grid
lattice work and Chrysler Crown above is beset by the inset headlamp bezels and
jutting fender curves. A simple,
European mustachio fender curls across the bottom of the vehicle’s face.
From the side, the fender runs across to begin curving
downwards when it meets the door and the belt line follows through to a gentle
downward slope underneath the rear quarter.
Simple flares around the wheel wells gives visual note while the seven
vertical gill-slits hint at power underneath the beauty. Exposed exhausts replace running boards
across the bottom of the doors.
The hood furthers the European appeal, having the gently
rounded look of a classic estate sloop.
The one-piece curved windshield adds more class and its stainless steel
edging smooths into the rag top which can fold away out of sight behind the
seats.
Everything about the look and feel of the Chrysler Falcon is
elegant and sporty. For 1955, it was a
beautiful blend of European styling and American automotive.
UNDER THE HOOD AND BEHIND THE DASH
The Chrysler Falcon was originally billed as having a 331
Hemi, but that changed to a 276 cubic inch overhead valve V8 instead. Later, it was learned that both engines were
actually used.
Still, that smaller 276 engine puts out 170 horsepower and
255 lb-ft of torque and was mated to a two-speed PowerFlite automatic
transmission. On a vehicle weighing only
3,300 pounds, this meant very impressive performance.
All of the controls, outside of the steering and pedals,
were operated using a short series of levers in four instruments on the lower
dash. This made the dashboard very
simple and elegant, giving for a sporty feel to the two-seat interior.
WHERE IS IT NOW?
For a long time, it was believed that only one conceptual
was built for the Chrysler Falcon. That
contains the 331 Hemi and was owned by Joe Bortz and is now in the Ford Museum,
but it is markedly different from the original photographs of the Falcon from
its auto show appearances in 1955. It
has wider spacing between the fender louvers, a somewhat different front grille
and hood face, and other small points of note.
The Falcon that appears in the 1956 film Four Girls In Town
is identical to the photographs from auto shows of the period.
A third was also built, but its whereabouts are not
known. It is known to exist only because
a letter from Luigi Serge of Ghia to C.B. Thomas of Chrysler confirms three
A-Bodied cars as Chrysler Sports Roadster models (Model A-488), two being
identical and the third being a “DeSoto Sports Roadster” (Model A-489). It’s possible that this third is the Bortz
car. As an interesting note, that letter
also confirms the price for Ghia to build the cars: $20,000 plus $2,500 for
mechanicals on the first, the same on the second minus 25%, and $16,000 on the
third and $15,000 for a monocoque frame.
Regardless, the Chrysler Falcon was and is a beautiful
example of form styling, using shape and contour instead of glitz and
accouterments to create timeless styling.
It would be as elegant on the road today as it would have been in 1955,
something few vehicles can truly claim.
http://www.valiant.org/falcon.html
The 1955 Chrysler Falcon two-seater was a showcase for the
new Hemi engines, and came out at around the same time as the Thunderbird and
Corvette; it was production-intent but never approved. The Valiant was
originally to have been named after that two-seater, but Ford grabbed the name
just as it was about to go into production.
by Mark Vaccaro
[The following photos and specifications were provided by
Mark Vaccaro, whose father, Fred, worked on restoration of the original Falcon
in the 1970s. His father took the photos as well.]
The Falcon had a 276 cubic inch overhead-valve Hemi V8
engine with five main bearings and a cast iron block and heads. It put out 170
gross horsepower with 255 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm. The compression ratio
was 7.5:1, and a two-barrel downdraft Stromberg carb was fitted. This connected
up to a two-speed PowerFlite automatic. The differential had a hypoid final
drive (3.54:1 ratio) with semi-floating drive axles. It was, needless to say,
rear wheel drive.
The front suspension used individual unequal-length upper
and lower control arms, coil springs, and hydraulic shocks — no torsion bars.
The rear suspension had the usual rigid axle and leaf springs.
Acceleration was good for the time, with a ten second
zero-to-sixty sprint, a 17.5 quarter mile (at 82 mph), and a top speed of 115
mph. Gas mileage was quoted at about 13 city, 16 highway.
The wheelbase was a mere 105 inches (three inches shorter
than the eventual Valiant, which would, to be fair, seat four). The length was
182 inches, the width 68 inches, and the height 51 inches. Ground clearance was
five inches. The weight was 3,300 lb., not too heavy (again, for the time)
partly because of the integrated body/frame construction.
The interior was advanced for the time, with individual,
adjustable bucket seats, leather upholstery, and concave inner door panels to
reinforce the “cockpit feeling.” Its
“forward look” styling included a wide, sloping windshield, sharply defined,
sloping front fenders, “upswept” rear fenders, and fender louvers. The
spring-balanced manually-operated convertible top was covered completely by a
folding lid. The wire wheels had simulated knock-off hubs. The externally
mounted dual side exhausts added detail to the side view.
The interior used red and ivory leather, with individual, adjusting
bucket seats. The exterior was done in “Gauntlett Black.” The interior was similar to the FlightSweep,
which debuted in the same year, with some key accessory and styling
differences.
Specs: 182 inches long, 68 wide, 51 tall. Tires were 7.60 x
15. The transmission was a PowreFlite two-speed with floor-mounted shifter. The
car had power brakes, electric windows, and power steering.
As disparate as the 1955 Chrysler Falcon and 1966 Duesenberg
Model D appear at first glance, the two concept-slash-prototype cars have quite
a bit in common. Both result from designs by famed stylist Virgil Exner and
feature a number of Exner hallmarks; both were slated to enter production, but
missed that goal; and both have been scheduled to appear at next year’s Amelia
Island Concours d’Elegance.
Throughout his career, Exner expressed a fondness for
certain classic elements of automobile design, particularly for those that
highlighted the mechanical functionality of a car. He liked round, open wheel
arches; he liked upright grilles; and he especially liked fast, powerful cars.
So by the early to mid-1950s, after Exner became Chrysler’s first director of
styling and when he felt it was finally time to design a car for himself, he
didn’t design just another sedan or luxury car; instead, he designed a two-seat
convertible sports car. As Peter Grist wrote in his biography of the designer, Virgil
Exner: Visioneer, Exner wanted “a car that embodied everything that he wanted
to see in a classic automobile; sports, thoroughbred styling and power to
match.”
With help from designer Maurice Baldwin, Exner came up with
a logical, though slightly larger, competitor to Chevrolet’s Corvette and
Ford’s Thunderbird. Sitting on a 105-inch wheelbase (in 1955, both Corvette and
Thunderbird rode 102-inch wheelbases) and coming in at 182 inches total length
(compared to 167 inches for Corvette and 175 inches for Thunderbird), the
Falcon used integrated body and frame construction as well as a 276-cu.in. Hemi
V-8 backed by a PowerFlite automatic transmission. As with other Exner idea
cars, Ghia built the Falcon for Chrysler.
According to Grist, however, Exner envisioned the Falcon as
more than an idea car. It borrowed heavily from the Chrysler parts bin and
didn’t require any advanced production techniques, so why not develop it as a
production car, he reasoned. But Chrysler’s engineering staff, with which Exner
fought incessantly, blocked the Falcon from becoming a reality, noting that the
company already had a couple of performance vehicles in the Chrysler 300-series
cars and Dodge D-500; why would it need another?
Nevertheless, more than one Falcon was built; just how many
is up for debate. The original one, finished in black, went to Exner, who
competed with it at SCCA races, but a number of sources have pointed to a May
27, 1954, letter from Ghia’s Luigi Segre to Chrysler’s C.B. Thomas mentioning
two different Falcons (designated A-488 and called “Chrysler Sports Roadster”)
as well as a near-identical De Soto Sports Roadster (designated A-489). Exner’s
black Falcon has gone missing and wasn’t recorded as destroyed, and the third
one – reportedly painted red – was apparently never photographed, but the
second one, a light blue example, wound up in Joe Bortz’s collection in 1987,
and will make its way to Amelia in March.
Articles above suggest that the Falcon was based on the 300, so I went looking for specs. And, What If one were to recreate a modern version of the Falcon based off of the modern 300?
2017 Chrysler 300 RWD Sedan
120.2 Wheelbase
198.6 OA Length
Frnt track 63.4
Rear Track 63.8
Width 75
4380 lbs (V8)
1955 Chrysler C300
126 Wheelbase
218.6 OA Length
Frnt Track 60.2
Rear track 59.6
Width 79.1
4310 lbs
1955 Chrysler Falcon (built on a shortened C300 Chassis)
105 Wheelbase
182 OA Length
Frnt Track
Rear track
Width 68.25
3900 lbs
2017 Chrysler 300 RWD Sedan
120.2 Wheelbase
198.6 OA Length
Frnt track 63.4
Rear Track 63.8
Width 75
4380 lbs (V8)
1955 Chrysler C300
126 Wheelbase
218.6 OA Length
Frnt Track 60.2
Rear track 59.6
Width 79.1
4310 lbs
1955 Chrysler Falcon (built on a shortened C300 Chassis)
105 Wheelbase
182 OA Length
Frnt Track
Rear track
Width 68.25
3900 lbs
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