One could think that the traditional suspects are the only players on the field if they only take a cursory look at the several car lots that will be sold at the upcoming auctions set to take place in the U.S. Chevys, Fords, and Dodges undoubtedly account for the majority, but it is by no means the whole tale.
Further exploration of said lots reveals considerably more fascinating, much rarer, and perhaps much more valuable machines. Consider this Imperial Crown, which dates back to a time when the world was very different.
For today’s auto enthusiast the Imperial may not mean all that much, and that’s a shame. It is one of the few cars the world has ever known to be produced both before and after the Second World War.
The nameplate was born in the Chrysler stables as a high-end offering all the way back in 1926. It was so successful that until the onset of hostilities it had no less than four distinct versions (not exactly generations, but close), it kept rolling even during the war years, and after peace arrived it soldiered on until 1993. A brief revival was tried in 2006, but that didn’t go past concept stage.
In its early years the car was sold as a model of Chrysler, but after 1954 the nameplate was spun off into a standalone brand. It is from this part of the model’s life this here example comes from, an incredible piece of American car history lost in a sea of muscle cars and custom rides.
Officially, the vehicle is an Imperial Crown coupe body. It seems brand-new because restoration work was done on it by unidentified individuals at an unidentified time in the past.
The Imperial, which has been painted blue with a white top over a new but historically accurate seafoam interior, exudes all the glitz of 1950s car manufacturing: the flowing body panels are flawless, the chrome bumpers and trim add the ideal touch of class, and the whitewall tires pulled over the wire wheels of unknown size guarantee that much-needed vintage look.
Back in the days when this Imperial was made Chrysler hid under the hood just two kinds of engines, a 331ci and a 354ci. This car is equipped with the larger one, and it’s tied to an automatic transmission. The exact performance numbers are not known, but then again nobody buys a car such as this to race down the strip.
Speaking of buying, the 1956 Imperial Crown is listed for sale by auction house Mecum during the Fall Special event taking place in Indianapolis at the beginning of October. No mention is made as to how much it is expected to fetch.