Fiery Flathead - Do you know the Chrysler Spitfire?
06/18/2024
The use of the same model name by two different car brands was a surprisingly common phenomenon. Hanomag and Opel Rekord come to mind. One of the lesser known cases is the Chrysler Spitfire, which came onto the market 38 years before the Triumph roadster based on the Herald. However, unlike the much more popular British model, the American was not a car, but merely an engine.
Specifically, a three-strong family of in-line engines. The side-valve six-cylinder engine had the longest service life and was installed in Chrysler Corporation products from its debut year in 1924 until 1959 in the USA and then until 1964 in Australia. A four-cylinder followed for the 1926 model year, but this was discontinued without replacement after just seven cycles. The eight-cylinder came in the De Soto in 1930 and went to the Chrysler in 1950.
The six-cylinder "hothead" had to make way for a new OHV engine in the USA in 1960, which was quite pragmatically named "Slant-Six" after its 30-degree inclination. The fiery eight-cylinder engine continued unchanged in 1951: the new Hemi V8 was called "Firepower" at Chrysler. De Soto followed a year later with the "Firedome".
