The Chrysler Intrepid was the name under which the Dodge Intrepid was sold in Canada. A full-size front-wheel-drive saloon built for the 1993 to 2004 model years on Chrysler’s cab-forward LH platform, it was one of three cars launched together at Detroit in 1992 and was built in Ontario and Delaware.
Chrysler Intrepid at a glance
| Production | 1993–2004 model years |
|---|---|
| Markets | Canada |
| Platform | Chrysler LH, front-wheel drive |
| Body | four-door sedan |
| Design origin | Lamborghini Portofino concept of 1987 |
| Base engine | 3.3 L pushrod V6 |
| Optional engine | 3.5 L SOHC V6, 214 hp |
| Trim levels | base and ES |
| Transmission | four-speed automatic, AutoStick from 1996 |
| Built at | Brampton, Ontario and Newark, Delaware |
| Sister cars | Chrysler Concorde, Eagle Vision, LHS, 300M, New Yorker |
| Replaced by | Chrysler 300 (2005) |
The Chrysler Intrepid is the Canadian version of the Dodge Intrepid; this page uses the English Wikipedia article on the Dodge Intrepid, and the photographs show the car with Dodge badges.
History of the Chrysler Intrepid
Design from the Portofino
The Intrepid’s design dates back to 1986, when designer Kevin Verduyn completed the exterior of an aerodynamic concept sedan called Navajo. The design never passed the clay model stage, but after Chrysler bought the bankrupt Lamborghini it was reworked into the Lamborghini Portofino, built on a Jalpa chassis by Sergio Coggiola in Turin and shown at the 1987 Frankfurt show. With soft curves instead of the wedges of the period, the Portofino was received as a design triumph and set Chrysler on the road to a production saloon with the same “cab-forward” shape, with the wheels pushed to the corners to enlarge the cabin.
Chassis
Chassis design began in the late 1980s, after Chrysler bought American Motors. Initial proposals resembled the Dodge Dynasty, but the approach was scrapped in 1988 by François Castaing, the former AMC vice-president of product engineering, who became Chrysler’s vice-president for vehicle engineering. Under Castaing the work began with the Eagle Premier, whose longitudinal engine mounting, front suspension geometry and parts of the braking system were inherited, and the chassis became a flexible architecture able to take front- or rear-wheel drive, designated LH and LX. The transmission, inspired by the Premier’s Audi and ZF automatics, borrowed from the A604 Ultradrive to become the A606 or 42LE. The 3.3-litre pushrod V6 was joined in 1990 by a 3.5-litre SOHC four-valve engine, and the second-generation Intrepid R/T used an aluminium block.
First generation
The LH cars debuted at the 1992 North American International Auto Show in Detroit as three 1993 models: the Chrysler Concorde, the Dodge Intrepid and the Eagle Vision. The Intrepid came in base and sportier ES trims, the ES adding four-wheel disc brakes, 16-inch wheels and stiffer touring suspension. All cars had driver and passenger airbags, a rarity at the time, air conditioning and a four-speed automatic, with anti-lock brakes, traction control and the 214 hp 3.5-litre V6 optional. The launch marked a new image for Dodge, marketed as “The New Dodge”. A variable-assist steering rack arrived for 1994 and the touring suspension became standard on the base model, anti-lock brakes were standard on the ES in 1995, and 1996 brought AutoStick manual shifting, the first such transmission in a mainstream car. Cars were built at Brampton in Ontario and at Newark, Delaware. The second generation ran from 1998 to 2004, designed by Robert Boniface in 31 months from design freeze to start of production.
Design and features
- Cab-forward body: short overhangs and wheels at the corners for a larger cabin.
- Airbags as standard: driver and front passenger airbags from launch in 1993.
- 3.5-litre V6 option: a SOHC four-valve engine with 214 hp.
- AutoStick: manual shifting for the automatic, introduced in 1996.
- Canadian identity: sold only in Canada, where it was Chrysler’s largest saloon.
Chrysler Intrepid versions
- Base: the standard trim with the 3.3-litre V6 and touring suspension from 1994.
- ES: the sportier trim with four-wheel disc brakes, 16-inch wheels and the 3.5 V6 option.
- First generation (1993–1997): the original LH car.
- Second generation (1998–2004): the redesigned car, including an aluminium-block R/T.
The Intrepid shared its LH platform with the Chrysler Concorde, the Chrysler LHS and the 300M, and it replaced the Chrysler Dynasty in Mexico. More cars are in the Chrysler collection.
Sources
- Dodge Intrepid, English Wikipedia: design, chassis, trims, model years
- Dodge Intrepid, Wikimedia Commons: photographs
