Kaiser Manhattan 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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The Manhattan became Kaiser's flagship trim with the 1951 'Anatomic Design' redesign, sitting above the Special/Deluxe as the best-equipped full-size Kaiser. It carried the same lithe, glassy bodywork that set the 1951–1955 cars apart from Detroit's heavier-looking offerings.
Its lasting claim to fame came late: short on a V8 to answer rivals, Kaiser fitted its 226-cubic-inch flathead six with a McCulloch centrifugal supercharger for 1954, raising output to around 140 hp and making the supercharged 1954 Manhattan the first post-war US production car offered with supercharging. The Manhattan was the only Kaiser model left for 1955, by which point US output had collapsed — Kaiser built just 1,231 cars in its final year, most of them shipped to Argentina, before leaving the American passenger-car market.
Body styles
- Sedan
Notable special editions & performance variants
Supercharged Manhattan
McCulloch centrifugal supercharger on the 226 cu in (3.7 L) inline-six, lifting output to roughly 140 hp — the first supercharged post-war US production car.
Related models
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