Never underestimate the stupidity of these MBA executives. Many companies were driven into the ground by these supposedly brilliant, highly educated idiots!
They always had great concept cars. They just could never execute any of them. When there was an American Big Three, guess which number was Chrysler? Hint, not one, not two.
I just gave my 17-year-old great-niece a Hot Wheels miniature of this same Atlantic concept car as a momento of her passing her driver's test for her license. I got it years ago when I had bought my one and only Chrysler product: a new 1994 Chrysler LHS/New Yorker. It wore the similar "chameleon" Charcoal Gold paint as the Atlantic,,, changing colors from silvery to champagne to a caramel color depending on the angle of the sun. Absolutely beautiful. Its interior was a similar light brown leather with dark brown highlights as in the showcar. Beautiful car with its share of recalls unfortunately. Back in the days when Bob Lutz, Tom Gale, et al. made Chrysler a formidable competitor. JJS
Chrysler was seemingly firing on all cylinders in the 1990s with a surplus of cash, just prior to their "merger of equals" with Mercedes Benz. Sadly, it was pretty much all downhill from there. Today, other than Jeep and Ram the brand is little more than an afterthought.
I worked at Chrysler brampton assembly (LH cars transitioning to the new old-E-class-based LXs) shortly after the 'merger of equals'... Every assembly line worker had to go through a day of watching videos of the Benz CEO scolding us (without any apparent knowledge of the issues that were actually causing this stuff - including supplier tolerances, etc.) about fit-and-finish, panel gaps, etc.
My recollection of the 1990s was, "Chrysler would do good to bring back the HEMI," which they DID to resounding SUCCESS. I actually preferred the 1980s K-based cars, and still really dig Pontiac's Fiero from that era.
I am here to look if I am spotted.... you can always buy a matchbox version. That was what I saw as kid in the store, when both real car and the toy car were brand new
I don't know if FAR better looking that the Bugatti, but yes definitely influenced this one, probably more than the Bugs did. (And yes, I love the Talbot Lago you noted, for sure. One of the most beautiful cars, ever.) Edit: The more I look at this, the more I see the Talbot Lago in it. And yes, the front end of the Talbot is nicer to the eye than the Bugatti, but they're all beautiful cars (the Talbot Lago, the Bugatti, and this Chrysler).
Agree, that Chrysler was at the top of their game during that era. I really like this show car. Always wondered what happened to it. Nice to see it didn’t meet the crusher!
I know this was more of a show car than any sort of concept car - but at that, and even now, I thought the Atlantic was just stunning and yes I would buy and drive one!
I remember as a kid in the 90's. The show "Night Man" came out. The main character was a superhero that played in a jazz club and drove a Plymouth Prowler. Sweet car and one of my favorite designs at the time. I got a chance to see and walk around one around the same time that someone bought from the neighborhood. Great car, just wish it came in a bigger variety of colors.
When I first saw the Chrysler Atlantic concept car, I fell in love with it. My feeling hasn't changed. Thanks for posting this look back at a masterpiece. 👍🏾
I like it. Also the interior, free from sad black color and mounts of stupid desktop-monitors. About the taillight and the rim size, Chrysler did well in predicting the future...
This 90s american car design I don't know how to call it...modern art nouveau type was always so alien for me. I'm form Europe and we never got this super soft round type lines here, some cars had it but never to american car levels. I remember seeing '92 Mustang Mach III concept in NFS 2 and it was somethin incredibly strange, looked like it was created with help of nature I don't know how to explain this. Same with this chrysler. All those 90s cab forward cars look strange in my european eyes i remember seeing olds aurora first time irl here i looked at that car for like 10 min, it looked like something from different reality and i liked it. My favorite car from that 90s alien era is lincoln mark 8, I love that car it looks soo futuristic and classic at the same time like it was made in different timeline
Yes, I do remember this when it came out- thought there was no way it would go into production at that time but still very cool. LED tail light / tail strip was very neat for the time. It has been in my recent memory too as I have a small model car of this which came with another model car I bought at an estate auction. Awesome to see this car is still around!
Thanks for this one, Adam !.. Chrysler was really belting them out during the 1990s, both in production and concept form.. I suppose the constipation of the 1980s was finally unstopped. Chrysler was on a tear. The LH Chrysler Concorde, LHS, New Yorker, Eagle Vision (neé DeSoto) and Dodge Intrepid were fresh and striking looking, making Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable look staid in comparison. They continued with the Dodge RAM redesign with the 'big rig' look. They had the raw beastly V-10 Dodge Viper in production. Plymouth had the retro hotrod appearing Prowler. Concepts during the '90s from Auburn Hills also included the Chrysler ME 412 mid-engine V-12 quad turbo supercar, the Chrysler Firepower Corvette competitor, The Dodge Super 8 HEMI, which looked like 1958, along with the classic retro dual cowl Phaeton, along with your Atlantic featured here. All of them were a visual feast and were stunning. I wish they had all been produced.
The dorsal seam of the Bugatti 57SC Atlantic has practical origins in the "Aérolithe" concept car that preceded it, whose body panels were made from a Magnesium alloy that was tricky to weld. The dorsal seam allowed panels to be riveted together - it was retained on the Aluminium-bodied Atlantic as a stylistic flourish.
When I saw the Atlantic at the auto show, I fell in love with it. But cars like that rarely see production. Retro designs float around Detroit all the time. Designers sometimes refer to designs like the Atlantic as religion cars, to keep from burning out. And the "fin" on the Bugatti was an experiment in assembly. Instead of assembling the body from five or six different pieces, the body was made in two halves and riveted together down the center. A process that never caught on.
As an 18 year old in 2005 I bought a used dodge stratus it was honestly a pretty darn good car. I delivered pizzas in it for several years and it was dependable and fuel efficient. I got into a 23 car pile up on the highway and it was destroyed but kept me safe. Great, affordable and good sized car
The retro craze was kicked off by VW in 1994 with Concept 1 (which would become the New Beetle in 1998). VW had no intention originally of producing the New Beetle, as Concept 1 was just to grab some attention due to waning sales at the time. However, due to a letter writing campaign by over 100,000 attendees of the Detroit Auto Show in 1994, VW decided to produce it. Now, perhaps I am mistaken, but I thought I remembered the Atlantic being one of a trio of retro looking concepts from Chrysler in 1995. I could swear the Crossfire and Prowler concepts emerged at the same time, but I could be wrong. I know the Crossfire was based on a Mercedes platform, so maybe that one was later than 1995.
I always wish that Chrysler offered a Grand-touring roadster, preferably with a manual gearbox and RWD/AWD. Something with an I6 or even V12. Something smooth. Closest we got was the Crossfire, an already outdated SLK. GM tried to do the same with the Cadillac XLR, a corvette dressed up as an SL Roadster, failed largely because they were all automatic.
To add to your point about Cadillac, I think the unreliable Northstar engine did it in as well. But before the Crossfire, they did the Prowler (a Plymouth) which was a two-seat grand-touring roadster. Not sure of the platform they used at the time but it came with Chryslers 3.5 v6, I wonder sometimes if they had the financial backing to refine the car at that time.
This is what cars should be in a world of SUV 's & Crossovers because cars would still be tops in manufacturing & artistic design & of course it would have been an American company starting a new era for automobiles in America. 😎🇺🇸
Excellent idea. If Chrysler took great care to insure high quality materials and build quality it might very well have been a true ‘Vette competitor. This Atlantic is gorgeous.
@@charlesbolton8471 Viper was a V-10 with a much different character than Corvette. Viper was raw and a biti rough and unrefined. Firepower would have been closer to Corvette.
@@MarinCipollina Sure, the Viper is/was a completely different car from the Corvette, but so is every other car that is or has been considered to be a competitor for the Corvette. Cars that compete in price are totally different, and cars that compete in performance are usually significantly more expensive.
I saw this car at a new car show 25 yrs ago or so. It was exciting as opposed to everything else around it. I also saw a concept Chrysler where the driver's section was all black and everyone else in the car got brown. That design came off pretty well.
Was fortunate to see this beautiful concept car a dozen or so years ago on display at Barrett Jackson. Photos and videos do not do it justice! What a romantic, eye catching car. Thank you Bob Lutz and Tom Gale!
Amazing seeing a 360 view of this beauty for the 1st time since I saw it at an auto show almost 30 years ago. Around that same time, Chrysler came out with an equally gorgeous retro concept that was a four-door, call the Chronos. Will be awesome & super interesting if you have a chance to review that one as well
Its amazing to think that the first generation Intrepid and Chrysler Concord are 30 years old and still look good and modern, then think of what 30 year old cars looked like in the mid 90's. Worse yet think of what 30 year old cars looked like in the mid 60's!
I always thought this car was a bit interesting to look at. However, it just does not float my boat. I'm glad you featured and I'm glad it still exists, though.
More of these legendary 90s era Chrysler concepts! Always found this Atlantic to be absolutely gorgeous but it was just one of many other concepts that Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth and Ram released during that era. Telling people these days that there was a time when Chrysler was the envy of the entire industry in terms of design, and they'll think you're crazy. Anyone else remember the Copperhead and Cirrus and Portofine concept. That last one was co-developed with Lamborghini, if I am not mistaken and had quad scissor doors.
Loved this Chrysler concept, have a poster. Thanks for giving the panels motion to see the light shift. Now I get it was themed on the Bugatti, I see a 73 Grand Am on a couple of three quarter shots. Was pinned by Lutz. Thx for bring home EOD. 💯👍🏾🏁
Those Chrysler products of the early '90s were oil change critical. I had several friends that made a good living buying those cars with bad engines and swapping in a used engine and then selling the finished product. They could buy the car for just a few hundred $$, put an engine in it and sell it for $4-5,000. A great profit. I believe they could engine swap them blindfolded.
This was another home run for Chrysler styling. I was a 30 something when this was presented to the public. I couldn't wait for the trickle down to production cars with the styling cues. Some of my favorites of the time was the LHS and 300M. It was the usual styling battle between GM and Chrysler during the period. I recall a commercial for the Buick Park Avenue of the time inferring the spirit Mr Earl influenced the styling. It is my hope Chrysler increases its offerings beyond the minivan. Eventually the current fad will pass and consumers will yearn for luxury cars with style.
A great & informative video! please make more of these kind of videos ,regarding the lovely/weird & wonderful concepts of yore.(' eyes on design' 2024 was full of these marvelous concepts)
Beautiful concept design, reminds me of when I participated in GM's Fisher Body competitions where I designed and built similar car models back in the 50's. Always loved the classic cab rearward designs.
Love this car and bought the first one I saw. Great little Matchbox. Chrysler really seemed to be having fun and sent a number of weird but great cars into production, too bad this one didn't make the cut.
Thank you Adam. This was quite interesting and the back story s quite good. I enjoyed the video. Just imagine if some of this car had made it into production.
I had for just a few weeks a Canadian 1995 Chrysler Intrepid ES with the two tone paint and 3.5 engine back in 2008. I got it for very cheap to sell it at a decent profit (but still for the price of the 4 new tires that were on it!). The previous owners had to spend a lot of money on maintenance and major repairs and it wasn't a good car. There were other not good cars from GM and Ford back in the 1990s. Cars that were OK for a few years but as the warranty expired just kept breaking and needing expensive repairs. I thought they did look great and that certainly helped the sales but they were not designed to last.
I always remember this car and many of the other Chrysler concepts from back then. It looks like the left fender has had some paint work and the match! 😳
It’s really unfortunate that at least in my opinion Chrysler/Daimler/Stellantis or whatever they decide to call it this month no longer exists. What they build today just doesn’t seem competitive.
What a neat concept...Chrysler was really at the top of their game in the 90s...I feel that they would have been a lot more successful if they hadn't sold to Daimler...Eaton ruined the company by cost cutting and adding fuel to the thought that Chrysler vehicles were unreliable, then sold the company to Daimler where they were largely ignored and seen as an afterthought. If they would have continued on and replaced Eaton with Lutz, I feel that they would be in a much better place than they wre today. Great video as always, Adam.
I'd like to see you do a video on the dark side of Chrysler vehicles. I can't think of any other car company that embraced a bad boy image. A car named Demon & a truck named Warlock. Take a look at Plymouth's heart with a devil tail in ads from the 70's. Also some suspicious production numbers like 289 four speed & 377 automatic Hemi 'Cudas made in 1970...add those up.
The rear could use some work, I much prefer the way the Morgan Aero looked in that regards, but the front end is amazing. Shame that we'll never get anything like this again.
Gale's flamboyant Bugatti inspired retro style makes it sort of timeless, could be built today, unless safety regulation prohibits it. I have never seen this for real, only images, and never the interior. I noticed the clock has an off center small seconds hand, kind of neat.
I've never seen this concept car before. I ordered a new 1996 Chrysler 300, that was almost the same color as this car. Now Chrysler/Dodge/Ram is struggling. I hope that they survive.
That's beautiful. I wonder what the value is of that car and how many they would of sold if produced? I would of bought one if I had the money. Thanks Adam for the video.
Bugatti Atlantic body were built of magnesium alloy, and because of that were riveted instead of welded and this was the reason for this iconic fin. Back in the days technology to weld magnesium were still in early development,.
💫…Enjoyable RCCAH look back & review Adam 👍…As concept cars go the Chrysler Atlantic was / still is an exceptional styling & engineering “ concept exercise” …This was a stand out show car when it first appeared back in 1995 and still is here in 2024 🌟…It had all the right cues styling wise and with a Straight Eight in the engine room under that long stretched out hood the power plant was equally on cue 🌟…It was stunning in ways that harked back to the mid 1960’s Duesenberg retro concept car which many here @ RCCAH likely can still conjure from memory …The interior tho perhaps a bit less striking in theme definitely had / has a classic 1990’s era vibes look with it’s rounded 2 color contours and integrated dash / gage / controls and control panel design(s)…🌟 …There was also an Imperial “ concept car “ put together by Daimler -Chrysler that shared similar styled wheels and rear deck theme of the Chrysler Atlantic 🌟 …As it is my days of owning and enjoying vintage 1960’s and 1970’s Imperials are now ended but I do still get to enjoy walking up to, getting into & driving around a 2006 Chrysler Town & Country Limited which has lots of mid 1990’s to early 2000’s Chrysler styling cues readily on display …Chrysler seemingly had a tendency to serially run into acute up & down cyclical car making business outcomes going back to the 1930’s Airflow era, late 40’s / early 50’s, mid and late 1950’s, from the early 1960’s into the late 1960’s and then 1970’s gas $$ backdrafts & Clean Air ICE Regs tilt-a-whirl….Then along came the1980’s / early 1990’s K-car era with all the derivative models & variations that were spun up / off by Chrysler …Was amazing that Chrysler was able to conjure so many models from the basic K car platform whether econo, sporty, convertible or stretch luxury sedan models & then draw 4 Aces & come up with the mini vans breakout concept / category segment as well🌟 …The Not Another K Car all new design mid / late 90’s into early 2000’s Cab Forward Chrysler New Yorker, LHS & 300 models were seductively good looking when new & still are now 3 decades later & remain personal Chrysler model year favorites🌟 …The 2006 Chrysler T&C Limited I own I’ve been driving now for 10 years …happily so🌟This 2006 T & C Limited actually has more interior “ luxury “ features & touches than the 1975 Imperial LeBaron I once owned …Not many survivor 2006 T&C mini vans to be seen on the road anymore being it has been 18 years since they were factory / showroom new …My T&C now has about 132,000 miles showing on the odometer, a good running 3.8 V-6 & all factory options except sunroof 🌟…A 2006 Chrysler T & C Limited is a good example of a pre Fiat / Stellantis era Chrysler T&C with both Utility & Luxury competently combined🌟My T&C has the multiple disc DVD / CD player with a drop down viewing screen & original head phone sets along with factory high end Sirius XM sat radio & GPS mapping 🌟 …As it is 2006 T&C vans do have a Made By Daimler-Chrysler ID tag.🌟👍😉
Fun fact, Bugatti themselves planned to resurrect the Atlantic name in 2015, as an "entry level" model. It was going to be powered by a choice of 4.0L twin-turbo V8 RWD (presumably sourced from Audi) or 4 electric motors (using the tech that ended up in the Porsche Taycan). It was one of the many projects that VW was basically forced to abandon as a result of the "dieselgate" scandal, which proved VERY costly for them. I don't believe it ever got to the point of having a working drivetrain. Honestly, though, Chrysler's version feels truer to the original, even if it is decidedly a weird 90s car (that interior...). Of course, it was also never meant to be a production car, whereas the 2015 Bugatti Atlantic was.
Ah, the retro styling craziness. Chrysler also had an imposing Imperial sedan concept during this time, looked like a diesel locomotive. My favorite was the Lincoln Continental concept from circa 2001-02 that was a modernized 1961 Continental. I saw it at the Los Angeles auto show and man it drew a huge crowd. Of course, Lincoln was the red headed stepchild of Ford's Premier Auto Group... and then Ford CEO Jack Nasser didn’t pony up the money to put the retro Continental into production. Chrysler came out with the 300 and Charger RWD sedans which were a hit... should have been the Continental 😢
@10:10 This is the first time I heard someone say "four place" for a car that seats four. My Volt sedan and the VW CC seat 4 max l, even though they are sedans.
Look where Chrysler was; and look where they are now
Barely hanging on...like a Steak n' Shake with a Culver's across the street.
Stellantis is hell-bent on killing Dodge and Chrysler.
Never underestimate the stupidity of these MBA executives. Many companies were driven into the ground by these supposedly brilliant, highly educated idiots!
They always had great concept cars. They just could never execute any of them. When there was an American Big Three, guess which number was Chrysler? Hint, not one, not two.
@@philojudaeusofalexandria9556 Dodge/Chrysler has always been suicidal.
In a heartbeat. It's gorgeous.
You've got that right, it looks like a cross between a Bugatti Atlantic and a Plymouth Prowler❤
I just gave my 17-year-old great-niece a Hot Wheels miniature of this same Atlantic concept car as a momento of her passing her driver's test for her license.
I got it years ago when I had bought my one and only Chrysler product: a new 1994 Chrysler LHS/New Yorker. It wore the similar "chameleon" Charcoal Gold paint as the Atlantic,,, changing colors from silvery to champagne to a caramel color depending on the angle of the sun. Absolutely beautiful. Its interior was a similar light brown leather with dark brown highlights as in the showcar. Beautiful car with its share of recalls unfortunately.
Back in the days when Bob Lutz, Tom Gale, et al. made Chrysler a formidable competitor. JJS
Chrysler was seemingly firing on all cylinders in the 1990s with a surplus of cash, just prior to their "merger of equals" with Mercedes Benz. Sadly, it was pretty much all downhill from there. Today, other than Jeep and Ram the brand is little more than an afterthought.
I worked at Chrysler brampton assembly (LH cars transitioning to the new old-E-class-based LXs) shortly after the 'merger of equals'... Every assembly line worker had to go through a day of watching videos of the Benz CEO scolding us (without any apparent knowledge of the issues that were actually causing this stuff - including supplier tolerances, etc.) about fit-and-finish, panel gaps, etc.
@@philojudaeusofalexandria9556 It's just mind boggling that this kind of crap is allowed to happen
My recollection of the 1990s was, "Chrysler would do good to bring back the HEMI," which they DID to resounding SUCCESS.
I actually preferred the 1980s K-based cars, and still really dig Pontiac's Fiero from that era.
I'm at 22 seconds and let me just say THANK YOU. This car would be my first step on my rapid movements toward bankruptcy after winning the lottery.
I am here to look if I am spotted....
you can always buy a matchbox version. That was what I saw as kid in the store, when both real car and the toy car were brand new
Love it. I had a Matchbox version of this as a kid
The 1937 Talbot-Lago teardrop coupe was far better looking than the Bugatti, and may have also influenced this design.
I don't know if FAR better looking that the Bugatti, but yes definitely influenced this one, probably more than the Bugs did. (And yes, I love the Talbot Lago you noted, for sure. One of the most beautiful cars, ever.)
Edit: The more I look at this, the more I see the Talbot Lago in it. And yes, the front end of the Talbot is nicer to the eye than the Bugatti, but they're all beautiful cars (the Talbot Lago, the Bugatti, and this Chrysler).
Nailed IT!!, I saw a real Talbot Lago 40 years after I fell in love with the car in junior high, at a small car show near my home
Definitely a love child of the two, agree with Talbots being just a bit more cohesive in their design
That occurred to me too, even though I've never seen either of these classics in real life, only in photos.
Agree, that Chrysler was at the top of their game during that era.
I really like this show car. Always wondered what happened to it. Nice to see it didn’t meet the crusher!
Great summary Adam. This has Bob Lutz all over it. 👍
So does the sign next to the car.
@@CarsandCats If you could read it.
One of my favorite concept cars of all time. I hadn't seen the interior until now, so this episode was a real treat. Thanks.
Check out Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters. They built the thing.
I know this was more of a show car than any sort of concept car - but at that, and even now, I thought the Atlantic was just stunning and yes I would buy and drive one!
I remember as a kid in the 90's. The show "Night Man" came out. The main character was a superhero that played in a jazz club and drove a Plymouth Prowler. Sweet car and one of my favorite designs at the time. I got a chance to see and walk around one around the same time that someone bought from the neighborhood. Great car, just wish it came in a bigger variety of colors.
The front end completely influenced the Morgan Aero 8.
Bill Pahl from Curious Cars made a video with one.
@@stoneylonesome4062 Dig Bill with the grotesque weather reports and feral goat action.
@@douglasb.1203 ... and don't forget the morning corona virus whiskey!
@@runner3033 BWAHAHAHA!!! 🤣
When I first saw the Chrysler Atlantic concept car, I fell in love with it. My feeling hasn't changed.
Thanks for posting this look back at a masterpiece. 👍🏾
Same. I remember this car well. Loved it then and it still looks great.
I like it. Also the interior, free from sad black color and mounts of stupid desktop-monitors.
About the taillight and the rim size, Chrysler did well in predicting the future...
This 90s american car design I don't know how to call it...modern art nouveau type was always so alien for me. I'm form Europe and we never got this super soft round type lines here, some cars had it but never to american car levels. I remember seeing '92 Mustang Mach III concept in NFS 2 and it was somethin incredibly strange, looked like it was created with help of nature I don't know how to explain this. Same with this chrysler. All those 90s cab forward cars look strange in my european eyes i remember seeing olds aurora first time irl here i looked at that car for like 10 min, it looked like something from different reality and i liked it. My favorite car from that 90s alien era is lincoln mark 8, I love that car it looks soo futuristic and classic at the same time like it was made in different timeline
The first gen Aurora is one of the best looking cars ever produced by GM.
"looked like it was created with the help of nature" is a wonderful way to put it.
This always reminded me of 1930s Talbot-Lago.
A strikingly beautiful automobile! I had no idea that this concept was powered by a straight-8.
I like it better than the Viper.
Two completely different concepts, but I’m with you. This vehicle is stunning.
No Way would I ever pick that over a Dodge Viper..Get your Testosterone Level Checked.
@@AntiZOGZone😂
Yes, I do remember this when it came out- thought there was no way it would go into production at that time but still very cool. LED tail light / tail strip was very neat for the time. It has been in my recent memory too as I have a small model car of this which came with another model car I bought at an estate auction. Awesome to see this car is still around!
The first cab forward design was the AMC Pacer.
The LH platform came from the AMC/Renault platform of the Premiere.
I just saw a Pacer with an LS swap.
@@patbrown463 Sad. A Wankel swap or a 403 V8 would be cool, though.
Thanks for this one, Adam !.. Chrysler was really belting them out during the 1990s, both in production and concept form.. I suppose the constipation of the 1980s was finally unstopped. Chrysler was on a tear.
The LH Chrysler Concorde, LHS, New Yorker, Eagle Vision (neé DeSoto) and Dodge Intrepid were fresh and striking looking, making Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable look staid in comparison. They continued with the Dodge RAM redesign with the 'big rig' look. They had the raw beastly V-10 Dodge Viper in production. Plymouth had the retro hotrod appearing Prowler.
Concepts during the '90s from Auburn Hills also included the Chrysler ME 412 mid-engine V-12 quad turbo supercar, the Chrysler Firepower Corvette competitor, The Dodge Super 8 HEMI, which looked like 1958, along with the classic retro dual cowl Phaeton, along with your Atlantic featured here. All of them were a visual feast and were stunning. I wish they had all been produced.
My favorite Chrysler concept car of that time was the Dodge Copperhead, sad to imagine what could've been!
The dorsal seam of the Bugatti 57SC Atlantic has practical origins in the "Aérolithe" concept car that preceded it, whose body panels were made from a Magnesium alloy that was tricky to weld. The dorsal seam allowed panels to be riveted together - it was retained on the Aluminium-bodied Atlantic as a stylistic flourish.
I love it. Art Deco-futurist + 90s styling.
When I saw the Atlantic at the auto show, I fell in love with it. But cars like that rarely see production. Retro designs float around Detroit all the time. Designers sometimes refer to designs like the Atlantic as religion cars, to keep from burning out. And the "fin" on the Bugatti was an experiment in assembly. Instead of assembling the body from five or six different pieces, the body was made in two halves and riveted together down the center. A process that never caught on.
As an 18 year old in 2005 I bought a used dodge stratus it was honestly a pretty darn good car. I delivered pizzas in it for several years and it was dependable and fuel efficient. I got into a 23 car pile up on the highway and it was destroyed but kept me safe. Great, affordable and good sized car
The retro craze was kicked off by VW in 1994 with Concept 1 (which would become the New Beetle in 1998). VW had no intention originally of producing the New Beetle, as Concept 1 was just to grab some attention due to waning sales at the time. However, due to a letter writing campaign by over 100,000 attendees of the Detroit Auto Show in 1994, VW decided to produce it.
Now, perhaps I am mistaken, but I thought I remembered the Atlantic being one of a trio of retro looking concepts from Chrysler in 1995. I could swear the Crossfire and Prowler concepts emerged at the same time, but I could be wrong. I know the Crossfire was based on a Mercedes platform, so maybe that one was later than 1995.
I keep hitting the like button before I view the video…and I keep on being right each & every time…
I always wish that Chrysler offered a Grand-touring roadster, preferably with a manual gearbox and RWD/AWD. Something with an I6 or even V12. Something smooth. Closest we got was the Crossfire, an already outdated SLK. GM tried to do the same with the Cadillac XLR, a corvette dressed up as an SL Roadster, failed largely because they were all automatic.
To add to your point about Cadillac, I think the unreliable Northstar engine did it in as well. But before the Crossfire, they did the Prowler (a Plymouth) which was a two-seat grand-touring roadster. Not sure of the platform they used at the time but it came with Chryslers 3.5 v6, I wonder sometimes if they had the financial backing to refine the car at that time.
@@manher4335this concept example instantly made me consider the Prowler.👍
@@manher4335 The Corvette engined V Series Cadillac XLR was totally solid.
@@MarinCipollina I thought so. But I've heard many complaints about it through the years.
Liked this and also the Chronos, that was so hot back then
When designers were still allowed to design. Your interviews with Bob Lutz are ace btw, thanks for your effort.
This is what cars should be in a world of SUV 's & Crossovers because cars would still be tops in manufacturing & artistic design & of course it would have been an American company starting a new era for automobiles in America. 😎🇺🇸
You know this could have been produced as a 7/8th size 2 seat Corvette competition.
Excellent idea. If Chrysler took great care to insure high quality materials and build quality it might very well have been a true ‘Vette competitor. This Atlantic is gorgeous.
The two seater Chrysler Firepower with the V8 HEMI would have been the Corvette competitor. Check it out if you haven't seen it.
Wasn’t the Viper already a Corvette competitor?
@@charlesbolton8471 Viper was a V-10 with a much different character than Corvette. Viper was raw and a biti rough and unrefined. Firepower would have been closer to Corvette.
@@MarinCipollina
Sure, the Viper is/was a completely different car from the Corvette, but so is every other car that is or has been considered to be a competitor for the Corvette. Cars that compete in price are totally different, and cars that compete in performance are usually significantly more expensive.
On the seatbelts: the Dodge Ram that came out right about this time has belts integrated into the seats.
Chrysler Sebring convertibles also had the integrated seatbelts. I believe the BMW 850i was the first to use these
I remember when I had a lowered mini-truck in the mini truck craze era , Dodge came out in 1989 with a convertible Dodge Dakota.
Oh my, I remember that.
The Atlantic is gorgeous.
1997 Plymouth Prowler, another throwback auto design
I also love those wheels. My favorite concept of all time is the 2006 Chrysler Imperial concept. It had almost identical wheels.
Such a beautiful design. So reminiscent of some lovely Bugatti's from the mid/late 30s. Yes, if I had the $$$, I'd buy it.
There's only one of these and it ain't for sale...
@@neonnoodle1169 Yes, quite. You did see the last part of Adam's title?
I saw this car at a new car show 25 yrs ago or so. It was exciting as opposed to everything else around it. I also saw a concept Chrysler where the driver's section was all black and everyone else in the car got brown. That design came off pretty well.
Holy crap, Talbot Lago much?? This is amazing! Brave concept to reintroduce in the 90s, kudos to all involved.
Was fortunate to see this beautiful concept car a dozen or so years ago on display at Barrett Jackson. Photos and videos do not do it justice! What a romantic, eye catching car. Thank you Bob Lutz and Tom Gale!
Amazing seeing a 360 view of this beauty for the 1st time since I saw it at an auto show almost 30 years ago. Around that same time, Chrysler came out with an equally gorgeous retro concept that was a four-door, call the Chronos. Will be awesome & super interesting if you have a chance to review that one as well
My favorite concept car of all time!
This was the car that made me love cars as a very small child.
0:24 my old storm-chase vehicle from the late 90s
Stunning!!
Its amazing to think that the first generation Intrepid and Chrysler Concord are 30 years old and still look good and modern, then think of what 30 year old cars looked like in the mid 90's. Worse yet think of what 30 year old cars looked like in the mid 60's!
30 year old cars in the 1960s were from the glorious 1960s. which was peak Detroit.
I love this and the Dodge Copperhead concept, style has since left the room.
If I remember correctly, the Sebring convertible has the shoulder belt in the seat back.
I always thought this car was a bit interesting to look at. However, it just does not float my boat. I'm glad you featured and I'm glad it still exists, though.
More of these legendary 90s era Chrysler concepts! Always found this Atlantic to be absolutely gorgeous but it was just one of many other concepts that Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth and Ram released during that era. Telling people these days that there was a time when Chrysler was the envy of the entire industry in terms of design, and they'll think you're crazy. Anyone else remember the Copperhead and Cirrus and Portofine concept. That last one was co-developed with Lamborghini, if I am not mistaken and had quad scissor doors.
Break me off a piece of that Chrysler car!
Damn what a piece of art. I'm drooling right now
Loved this Chrysler concept, have a poster. Thanks for giving the panels motion to see the light shift. Now I get it was themed on the Bugatti, I see a 73 Grand Am on a couple of three quarter shots. Was pinned by Lutz. Thx for bring home EOD. 💯👍🏾🏁
I've never heard of this until now but man this looks even cooler than the prowler!
it is god hearing about cars I've never heard of before...
I saw this car at the San Diego International Auto Show....It is STNNING - powered with two in-line blown 4s
Those Chrysler products of the early '90s were oil change critical. I had several friends that made a good living buying those cars with bad engines and swapping in a used engine and then selling the finished product. They could buy the car for just a few hundred $$, put an engine in it and sell it for $4-5,000. A great profit. I believe they could engine swap them blindfolded.
This was another home run for Chrysler styling. I was a 30 something when this was presented to the public. I couldn't wait for the trickle down to production cars with the styling cues. Some of my favorites of the time was the LHS and 300M. It was the usual styling battle between GM and Chrysler during the period. I recall a commercial for the Buick Park Avenue of the time inferring the spirit Mr Earl influenced the styling.
It is my hope Chrysler increases its offerings beyond the minivan. Eventually the current fad will pass and consumers will yearn for luxury cars with style.
A great & informative video! please make more of these kind of videos ,regarding the lovely/weird & wonderful concepts of yore.(' eyes on design' 2024 was full of these marvelous concepts)
Beautiful concept design, reminds me of when I participated in GM's Fisher Body competitions where I designed and built similar car models back in the 50's. Always loved the classic cab rearward designs.
Love this car and bought the first one I saw. Great little Matchbox. Chrysler really seemed to be having fun and sent a number of weird but great cars into production, too bad this one didn't make the cut.
I noticed they even had the dorsal fin in the geadreat of both front seats cool looking car.
I have a photograph of myself using the wheels as a mirror. Yes, it worked very well.
I wish they built it. I would have bought one. Beautiful car.
Such a timeless design
Thank you Adam. This was quite interesting and the back story s quite good. I enjoyed the video. Just imagine if some of this car had made it into production.
I had for just a few weeks a Canadian 1995 Chrysler Intrepid ES with the two tone paint and 3.5 engine back in 2008. I got it for very cheap to sell it at a decent profit (but still for the price of the 4 new tires that were on it!). The previous owners had to spend a lot of money on maintenance and major repairs and it wasn't a good car. There were other not good cars from GM and Ford back in the 1990s. Cars that were OK for a few years but as the warranty expired just kept breaking and needing expensive repairs. I thought they did look great and that certainly helped the sales but they were not designed to last.
I LOVE IT!❤❤❤
I rented a Dodge Intrepid and it was extremely roomya dn coll looking. Really impressed by it.
That car was great. Peak 90s Chrysler.
They could bring that out today and it’d sell. Beautiful design.
I always remember this car and many of the other Chrysler concepts from back then.
It looks like the left fender has had some paint work and the match! 😳
I never saw this car before but when I saw it here first my first thought was Bugatti. I really like the looks of this car.
I saw the Atlantic that year at the Chicago auto show and was bowled over. Those were the days when Chrysler was riding heigh.
I love the styling! I think Chrysler has the best concept cars back in the 90's. Can you do a video on my favorite one, the Dodge Copperhead?
Beautiful car - although it would've been unpractical to most people except for maybe the "Corvette" crowd - front end looks like a Morgan.
Exterior and interior design really gives me some H.R. Giger vibes.👍
That bugerti looks like something Ace & Gary would drive.
Wow, crazy retro ride.😮
I can appreciate the rear end styling but the front (head on) gives me 'cross eyed' vibes.
Please do a show on the CORVAIR. THE MOST Successful Unsuccessful car ever made!
It’s really unfortunate that at least in my opinion Chrysler/Daimler/Stellantis or whatever they decide to call it this month no longer exists. What they build today just doesn’t seem competitive.
What a neat concept...Chrysler was really at the top of their game in the 90s...I feel that they would have been a lot more successful if they hadn't sold to Daimler...Eaton ruined the company by cost cutting and adding fuel to the thought that Chrysler vehicles were unreliable, then sold the company to Daimler where they were largely ignored and seen as an afterthought. If they would have continued on and replaced Eaton with Lutz, I feel that they would be in a much better place than they wre today. Great video as always, Adam.
Lutz should have gotten the CEO job instead of Eaton, but Iacocca didn't likr Lutz..
I am really enjoying these concept car videos.
I'd like to see you do a video on the dark side of Chrysler vehicles. I can't think of any other car company that embraced a bad boy image. A car named Demon & a truck named Warlock. Take a look at Plymouth's heart with a devil tail in ads from the 70's. Also some suspicious production numbers like 289 four speed & 377 automatic Hemi 'Cudas made in 1970...add those up.
Didn't Chrysler Corp have a model from the 1970s called a 'Swinger' ?..
The rear could use some work, I much prefer the way the Morgan Aero looked in that regards, but the front end is amazing. Shame that we'll never get anything like this again.
Gale's flamboyant Bugatti inspired retro style makes it sort of timeless, could be built today, unless safety regulation prohibits it. I have never seen this for real, only images, and never the interior. I noticed the clock has an off center small seconds hand, kind of neat.
Please tell me you are doing video on the cars in the background 😮 I have to know what that red car is. A lot of cool cars in that area
Enough material there for several videos
a straight 8 is the pinacle of classic
give it batteries and a quad motor layout
(cab forward designs were the last hurrah of chrysler )
I've never seen this concept car before. I ordered a new 1996 Chrysler 300, that was almost the same color as this car. Now Chrysler/Dodge/Ram is struggling. I hope that they survive.
That's beautiful. I wonder what the value is of that car and how many they would of sold if produced? I would of bought one if I had the money. Thanks Adam for the video.
Bugatti Atlantic body were built of magnesium alloy, and because of that were riveted instead of welded and this was the reason for this iconic fin. Back in the days technology to weld magnesium were still in early development,.
A downsized version, 2 seater with an inline 6 and 5 speed would be perfect these days. Sweet car.
This one really should have been put into production. Chrysler was successful at the retro design. I’d buy an Atlantic in a heartbeat.
My 2002 Envoy had built in seat belts and side air bags. I can't see those seats being any sturdier than what's in this
The Sebring convertible from that same time as this had them in the seats also
💫…Enjoyable RCCAH look back & review Adam 👍…As concept cars go the Chrysler Atlantic was / still is an exceptional styling & engineering “ concept exercise” …This was a stand out show car when it first appeared back in 1995 and still is here in 2024 🌟…It had all the right cues styling wise and with a Straight Eight in the engine room under that long stretched out hood the power plant was equally on cue 🌟…It was stunning in ways that harked back to the mid 1960’s Duesenberg retro concept car which many here @ RCCAH likely can still conjure from memory …The interior tho perhaps a bit less striking in theme definitely had / has a classic 1990’s era vibes look with it’s rounded 2 color contours and integrated dash / gage / controls and control panel design(s)…🌟
…There was also an Imperial “ concept car “ put together by Daimler -Chrysler that shared similar styled wheels and rear deck theme of the Chrysler Atlantic 🌟
…As it is my days of owning and enjoying vintage 1960’s and 1970’s Imperials are now ended but I do still get to enjoy walking up to, getting into & driving around a 2006 Chrysler Town & Country Limited which has lots of mid 1990’s to early 2000’s Chrysler styling cues readily on display …Chrysler seemingly had a tendency to serially run into acute up & down cyclical car making business outcomes going back to the 1930’s Airflow era, late 40’s / early 50’s, mid and late 1950’s, from the early 1960’s into the late 1960’s and then 1970’s gas $$ backdrafts & Clean Air ICE Regs tilt-a-whirl….Then along came the1980’s / early 1990’s K-car era with all the derivative models & variations that were spun up / off by Chrysler …Was amazing that Chrysler was able to conjure so many models from the basic K car platform whether econo, sporty, convertible or stretch luxury sedan models & then draw 4 Aces & come up with the mini vans breakout concept / category segment as well🌟
…The Not Another K Car all new design mid / late 90’s into early 2000’s Cab Forward Chrysler New Yorker, LHS & 300 models were seductively good looking when new & still are now 3 decades later & remain personal Chrysler model year favorites🌟
…The 2006 Chrysler T&C Limited I own I’ve been driving now for 10 years …happily so🌟This 2006 T & C Limited actually has more interior “ luxury “ features & touches than the 1975 Imperial LeBaron I once owned …Not many survivor 2006 T&C mini vans to be seen on the road anymore being it has been 18 years since they were factory / showroom new …My T&C now has about 132,000 miles showing on the odometer, a good running 3.8 V-6 & all factory options except sunroof 🌟…A 2006 Chrysler T & C Limited is a good example of a pre Fiat / Stellantis era Chrysler T&C with both Utility & Luxury competently combined🌟My T&C has the multiple disc DVD / CD player with a drop down viewing screen & original head phone sets along with factory high end Sirius XM sat radio & GPS mapping 🌟
…As it is 2006 T&C vans do have a Made By Daimler-Chrysler ID tag.🌟👍😉
Fun fact, Bugatti themselves planned to resurrect the Atlantic name in 2015, as an "entry level" model. It was going to be powered by a choice of 4.0L twin-turbo V8 RWD (presumably sourced from Audi) or 4 electric motors (using the tech that ended up in the Porsche Taycan). It was one of the many projects that VW was basically forced to abandon as a result of the "dieselgate" scandal, which proved VERY costly for them. I don't believe it ever got to the point of having a working drivetrain.
Honestly, though, Chrysler's version feels truer to the original, even if it is decidedly a weird 90s car (that interior...). Of course, it was also never meant to be a production car, whereas the 2015 Bugatti Atlantic was.
Ah, the retro styling craziness. Chrysler also had an imposing Imperial sedan concept during this time, looked like a diesel locomotive. My favorite was the Lincoln Continental concept from circa 2001-02 that was a modernized 1961 Continental. I saw it at the Los Angeles auto show and man it drew a huge crowd. Of course, Lincoln was the red headed stepchild of Ford's Premier Auto Group... and then Ford CEO Jack Nasser didn’t pony up the money to put the retro Continental into production. Chrysler came out with the 300 and Charger RWD sedans which were a hit... should have been the Continental 😢
@10:10 This is the first time I heard someone say "four place" for a car that seats four. My Volt sedan and the VW CC seat 4 max l, even though they are sedans.