20 Years of Chrysler Modern Concept Vehicles

Chrysler Group design philosophy “Concept to reality” defines every ones hopes for the company’s concept vehicles for 2007. The philosophy has been first unveiled in 1987, at Frankfurt Motor Show with the unveiling of the Chrysler Portofino concept sedan. Almost 20 years and more than 100 concepts later, this continuous development has helped Chrysler Group reinvent and maintain its reputation as a car company driven by design and engineering.

For the Chrysler Group, the c Concept vehicles have two major roles: they showcase to management, the media and the public the potential future design direction for Chrysler Group cars and trucks, and they help to attract the best young designers in the world into its design studios.

Also they allow designers to test new colors, features, vehicle size and segments. Concepts can also be showcases for new design cues, which often find their way into production on future vehicles – even if the entire concept vehicle does not.

Chrysler Group does not only produce concept vehicles that can actually be driven, many of them become production vehicles within a few years of their first reveal. The latest example is the Dodge Challenger. First revealed as a concept at the 2006 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, it was announced that the Challenger will go into production in 2008.
Trevor Creed, Senior Vice President – Product Design Office, Chrysler Group, said “Our track record shows that many Chrysler Group concepts, and several of the design features showcased on our concept vehicles, have gone into production,” he added. “While we can’t say yet if any of our 2007 concepts will eventually be seen in our showrooms, they clearly hint at exciting and innovative future design directions that could find their way into our company’s products.”

Twenty Years of Modern Concept Vehicles

The Chrysler Group has a long history of innovation in design and engineering, going back even as far as the first 1924 Chrysler sedan. In the modern era, since 1988, the company has created more than 100 concept vehicles in a variety of shapes, sizes, configurations and materials.