Dec 15, 2006 1:40 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Eric Mayne - - Chrysler Group is letting the flame go out on its Firepower concept, the Hemi-powered “grand tourer” that stoked performance ambitions for the auto maker’s core brand.
“We’re not doing Firepower,” Trevor Creed, senior vice president-design, says. “We just couldn’t find a viable way to do it.”
Reeling from the effects of bloated inventories, which led to a $1.5 billion third-quarter loss and an internal drive to shave $1,000 per vehicle-production cost, Chrysler is refocused on profitability.
Against this backdrop, the auto maker has said no product will enter its pipeline unless it has realistic profit potential. This approach killed the Jeep Gladiator concept earlier in the year, which debuted alongside the Firepower at the 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
And it even caused the Dodge Challenger concept – a can’t-miss product in the eyes of most industry observers – to undergo rigorous scrutiny before the auto maker declared it would build the muscle car in 2008.
The sleek, stylish Firepower features a 6.1L Hemi V-8 developed by Chrysler’s Street and Racing Technologies (SRT) performance group.
“It was a very striking concept,” Creed tells Ward’s, adding the Firepower shared no significant components with any other product in the Chrysler family. “(It) was built from the ground up,” Creed says. “And we needed to do that to get the unique look of (the) vehicle.”
But creating concept cars is “easy” compared with the task of engineering and building a production version that will succeed in the market, he adds.
The move to kill the Firepower doesn’t surprise industry experts.
“That makes sense to me,” says AutoPacific Inc. analyst Stephanie Brinley. To generate sufficient earnings from the Firepower, Chrysler would have been forced to charge “Viper money,” she says, referring to the 500-hp Dodge Viper SRT10 supercar that starts at $82,745.
Speculation by United Auto Workers union leaders called for the Firepower to be built alongside the Viper at Chrysler’s Conner Ave. assembly plant in Detroit.
“A (Chrysler) halo coupe is clever, but they’ve still got to fix some other issues,” Brinley says, noting she was impressed by the Firepower’s styling – interior and exterior – and its Ocean Deep Blue color scheme.
The car succeeded in generating buzz, but reaction was mixed. Last summer, when Firepower production seemed plausible, bloggers were upbeat about the design, with one poster calling it “awesome.”
Industry observers predicted Firepower's base price would be close to Dodge Viper.
However, others took note of Chrysler’s precarious financial position and declared potential Firepower production to be a “dumb move.”
Without the Firepower, Chrysler is left with the Crossfire as its flagship sports car. Built in Germany by Wilhelm Karmann GmbH using numerous components from the Mercedes-Benz SLK, the Crossfire is refreshed for ’07 after its ’06 run was cut short.
The 2-seater, with an anticipated starting price of about $31,000, features a new monochromatic look and many added safety features, such as passenger-seat occupant-classification technology that governs airbag deployment.
__________________ 94 Viper RT/10 <--Click 04 Ram SRT-10 <--Click SC!
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Yarrgh! I totally had my sights set on one too. I guess it's the Challenger for me. :P
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While I was never very thrilled with the Firepower, I think DCX made a mistake on this. The Crossfire is a joke....and to make the excuse that its not financially feasible to build the Firepower is a load of b.s. The Crossfire isnt a cost worthy car either, but the Firepower would sell better....
Well I definatly can see the Crossfire being more financialy feasable than the Firepower concept, it's basicaly nothing more than the last gen Mercedes SLK, asub $50k carwith some new panels, the Firepower however isbased offa current gen Viper, an $85k+ car with new panels and an6.1 instead of the V10, so the Viper's chassiswould make itmuch more expensive.
The Firepower would definatly sell more if they could keep down to a comparable price of the Crossfire but you're probably looking at at least another $10k from the Viper chassis,though if they built it off the Challenger platform instead thenit could definatly be feasable, on the Challenger platform they could probably keep an SRT Firepower with the 6.1 under the price of the SRT-6 Crossfire.
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Well I definatly can see the Crossfire being more financialy feasable than the Firepower concept, it's basicaly nothing more than the last gen Mercedes SLK, asub $50k carwith some new panels, the Firepower however isbased offa current gen Viper, an $85k+ car with new panels and an6.1 instead of the V10, so the Viper's chassiswould make itmuch more expensive.
The Crossfire is overpriced and underpowered. Why buy a 50k car when you can get better performance in a base model Corvette or even a Mustang? The Crossfire is basically nothing but a Mercedes....and that's why its so damn high priced to begin with.
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ORIGINAL: shiltz
The Firepower would definatly sell more if they could keep down to a comparable price of the Crossfire but you're probably looking at at least another $10k from the Viper chassis,though if they built it off the Challenger platform instead thenit could definatly be feasable, on the Challenger platform they could probably keep an SRT Firepower with the 6.1 under the price of the SRT-6 Crossfire.
Price wouldnt be as big an issue with the Firepower as opposed to the Crossfire. One, it's a larger more powerful car. Two, it's a car more worthy of the cost then the Crossfire.
The LY platform makes no sense either, as its a shortened version of the LX platform....and if I'm not mistaken, the LX platform is shorter then the Viper chassis. I could be wrong on that. However, if they were the same length, then it would make all the sense in the world to use it instead. The 5.7L and 6.1L Hemi would sell a ton of cars.....and I think a 45-55k pricetag would easily done....
The problem? Chrysler was hoping to get this thing for more then a 60k pricetag.....it was to be a Chrysler version Viper essentially.....even though many will argue it wasnt.....fact is....people wont buy the car for that price....not when they can get the same performance in a 40-44k base model Corvette...
The Crossfire is overpriced and underpowered. Why buy a 50k car when you can get better performance in a base model Corvette or even a Mustang? The Crossfire is basically nothing but a Mercedes....and that's why its so damn high priced to begin with.
Same reason why people buy a $60k+ Mercedes over a Vette/Mustang, ones a luxury sports car and the other is a POS comparatively, sure the Vette/Mustang are nice cars for their price range but a nice luxury car they are not, and the Crossfire aside from the SRT was never intended to be a super fast sports car to compete with a vette, it's a luxury sports coupe.
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ORIGINAL: DevilsReject
The LY platform makes no sense either, as its a shortened version of the LX platform....and if I'm not mistaken, the LX platform is shorter then the Viper chassis. I could be wrong on that. However, if they were the same length, then it would make all the sense in the world to use it instead. The 5.7L and 6.1L Hemi would sell a ton of cars.....and I think a 45-55k pricetag would easily done....
The LY (or at least as is in the current Challenger concept) compared to the LX is 6" shorter wheelbase, 3" longer overall length, and 2" wider overall width, not sure on the front/rear track but I would assume they increased by 2" as well, so a Firepower on the LY would end up bigger than the concept though I think they could make it smaller than the Challenger as a lot of the size on the Challenger is the body panels to get the proportions right on the car since modern wheelbase to overall length would make the car look off.
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i believe that the challenger is 4" shorter in wheelbase...not 6...but im really not trying to nit-pick.
as for the firepower, im not surprised...
and i agree 100% that the crossfire is a dud. way too much money at every trim level. people who bought the SRT6 didnt do it because its a luxury car...they did it because they have money to waste.
Firepower gets thumbs down
