Chrysler Imperial History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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Model history available. Detailed year guides are not published for this model.
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Introduced for 1926, the Imperial was Walter P. Chrysler's bid against the era's luxury leaders — Cadillac, Lincoln, Packard, Pierce-Arrow, and the rest — with a larger engine and grander coachwork than the standard Chryslers.
Its history is unusual: Imperial models were sold under the Chrysler name through 1954, after which Chrysler spun Imperial off as a separate make and division (1955 onward) to compete head-on with Cadillac and Lincoln, before the name returned to the Chrysler fold.
A final front-wheel-drive Chrysler Imperial was sold for 1990–1993, ending after that model year alongside the C-body New Yorker; the cab-forward Chrysler LHS took over as flagship for 1994.
Body styles
- Sedan
- Coupe
- Convertible
- Limousine
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