2005 Chrysler Crossfire Preview

Stepping into the Cross Fire

Chrysler has its first sports car in ages and, thank heaven, this isn't your great uncle Ed's 300M.

Open the door of a Chrysler Crossfire and you might not notice something missing.

You'd notice something missing if you've been shopping across the segment of near-luxury sports cars priced at $30,000 to $40,000. Because then you might be opening the doors to a lot of two-seaters, say for instance that of the $29,250 Infiniti G35 Sports Coupe. What happens when you open that car's door that doesn't happen on the Crossfire? The window drops, ever so slightly.

Close the door on that Infiniti and the window would hold its millimeter-lower position for just an instant, then bump back upwards, flush with the rubber seal.

This tiny detail isn't so tiny -- a lot of carmakers that employ rimless doors (where there's no bracket of metal around the glass) use this mechanism these days because over time it saves the rail that holds the window on track. So, say 50,000 miles of door slamming later, the window still shuts tight against the door frame, and retains a weatherproof and windproof seal.

You might forgive Chrysler the oversight in omitting this feature, since just two years ago the Crossfire was merely an idea, a show car that looked great but industry watchers all thought Chrysler didn't have a chassis for the car. They were wrong, though, because DaimlerChrysler did have a platform to donate, one from the Mercedes-Benz SLK two-door. And by signing up German coachbuilder Karmann to craft the sheet metal, suddenly the project car had a chance to be a production model.

But what that really means is that this is a last-generation SLK (a car about to be considerably updated) with the last-generation 3.2-liter, 215 hp V-6 under the hood, sitting on the old SLK body. That's also why the turn-signal stalk, cruise control and headlamp switch are all straight from that Benz as well. Uh, and also the transmission and suspension.

Yet the great news is that the Crossfire doesn't feel like a kit car (it's no Plymouth Prowler, in case that last Chrysler sports car popped into your imagination). It's a much more engaging, grippy car than the outgoing SLK. It's also eminently comfortable to drive daily, with none of the electric go-cart nervousness some others in this class depend on for headlines. You can indeed rail the Crossfire through a freeway off-ramp at well-beyond-advised speeds and not hear any tire howl, but you need not do so to remember you bought something pretty nifty and much more unique than an SLK.

Still, this is not an inexpensive automobile, with a base price of $33,620, which is a few grand more than the aforementioned Infiniti, twin to the Nissan $26,370 350Z, which should also be considered serious competition. Farther up the ladder, you'll find the convertible $32,600 Honda S2000, the $32,500 Audi TT Coupe, and the new BMW Z4, priced at $33,100 to $40,250. All of the above excel in this segment in one way or another, either on performance, style, or luxury, and those that balance all of those factors (BMW and Infiniti) are considered the toughest competition.

Which presents a huge hurdle for Chrysler to leap over. So the $33,620 question is: Can a carmaker known for minivans stomp where only BMWs dare to tread? Keep reading to find out.