Comprising only two vehicles, the 300 and the Pacifica, Chrysler’s current lineup is sad, to say the least. But it wasn’t always like that. Many decades ago, Chrysler was one of America’s leading luxury car manufacturers and sold some of the most beautiful automobiles out there.
The company also had a significant role in creating the muscle car market with the early 300 letter series and introduced the first streamlined production car in the US, the Airflow. The latter arrived in 1934, only a few years before Chrysler launched its first concept car, the Thunderbolt.
The idea was born in 1939 when a promising young designer named Alex Tremulis presented a few sketches to Ralph Roberts, the CEO of American coachbuilder LeBaron. Impressed with Tremulis’ futuristic designs, Roberts arranged a meeting with Chrysler head honchos Dave Wallance and K.T. Keller and obtained funding for a concept car based on a Crown Imperial frame.
Crafted almost entirely from aluminum, the Thunderbolt looked unlike anything Chrysler made at the time. It was streamlined without looking as busy as the Airflow and shared more styling cues with European sports cars rather than American vehicles. It also employed hidden headlamps, a feature previously seen only on the 1936 Cord 810, and a front fascia devoid of a radiator grille.
Chrysler and LeBaron also fitted the Thunderbolt with innovative electronics, including push-button door switches and a fully retractable hardtop. The single-piece top disappeared into the trunk thanks to a complex electro-hydraulic mechanism at the flick of a switch. The Thunderbolt was also the first automobile with a curved windshield, a feature that would not appear on production cars until the late 1940s.
The concept also pioneered the fully enclosed wheel design. Like the curved, one-piece windshield, this feature found its way into a production car almost a decade later. Both were introduced on the 1949 Nash Ambassador.
Unveiled at the 1940 New York Auto Show and then paraded across the US, the Thunderbolt left the LeBaron shop with a rather conventional 324-cubic-inch (5.3-liter) inline-eight. Shared with the contemporary Chrysler Imperial, the “Spitfire” unit generated 140 horsepower and 255 pound-feet (346 Nm) of torque.
But while labeled a concept car, the Thunderbolt wasn’t a unique creation. LeBaron actually built five examples (though some sources claim six were made). “The Copper Car,” dubbed so due to its copper-plated bumpers and trim, is arguably the most famous. Restored to a perfect finish, it’s the only surviving example with the correct mechanical headlamp mechanism.
The second Thunderbolt was finished in red with a silver top and changed hands twice in the 2000s for more than $1 million. There’s also a black version in a private collection and a gray car that spent many years in the Walter P. Chrysler Museum until its closure in 2016. The whereabouts of the fifth car are unknown.
These concept cars rarely leave their heated garages, but the gray example was recently showcased at the 2023 EyesOn Design car show. While not quite as spectacular as “The Copper Car,” it’s a rare sight and proves that Detroit metal is immortal with proper maintenance.