Sensational Becomes Sun-Sational Earlier this year I road tested a
Chrysler Crossfire coupe. Although I absolutely loved the vehicle's performance and driving
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| While the convertible conversion was no doubt tricky for Chrysler to pull off, it looks stunning. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
dynamics, I was tempted to fire up my "saws-all" reciprocating hack saw and sever the claustrophobia-inducing roof from the car's svelte body. But rain was in the forecast and I wasn't in a hurry to sever my automotive journalism career along with the little coupe's lid. Fortunately Chrysler had the foresight to undertake such surgery on its own, which not only extended my career but converted the sensational little "tough guy" coupe into a "sun-sational" high performance roadster.
Fortunately the designers at Chrysler managed to create a roadster that exhibits much more symmetry and style than what my
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| The roadster's sculpted hard tonneau cover is particularly appealing. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
severing would have led to. Starting with the Crossfire's long hood and hatchback configuration no doubt made the conversion to convertible tricky, as what can appear proportional in the way of a hardtop coupe can look out of whack once the top half has been discarded - but not so with the Crossfire. As with my earlier Crossfire test coupe, the German built roadster is very well assembled. Panel spacing is spot-on and fit and finish is accurate all around. Particularly appealing on the roadster is its rear deck and sculpted hard tonneau cover, the latter of which is contoured to match the rear deck sculpting and the raised roll bar bases.
