The Dodge Intrepid is a full-size front-wheel-drive four-door sedan that Dodge produced for the 1993 to 2004 model years. It was built on Chrysler’s new cab-forward LH platform and was related to the Chrysler 300M, Concorde, LHS and New Yorker and to the Eagle Vision.
Dodge Intrepid at a glance
| Production | 1993-2004 model years |
|---|---|
| Class | full-size front-wheel-drive sedan |
| Platform | Chrysler LH, cab-forward |
| Engines | 3.3 L pushrod V6; 3.5 L SOHC V6 with 214 hp |
| Gearbox | four-speed automatic, A606 (42LE) |
| Trims | base and ES |
| Safety | driver and passenger airbags standard from launch |
| Built | Brampton, Ontario and Newark, Delaware |
| Sold as | Chrysler Intrepid in Canada |
| Second generation | from the 1998 model year |
Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Dodge Intrepid.
History of the Dodge Intrepid
The Intrepid’s design dates back to 1986, when designer Kevin Verduyn completed the exterior of an aerodynamic concept sedan called Navajo, which never got past the clay model stage. At about the same time Chrysler bought the bankrupt Lamborghini, and the Navajo design was reworked into the Lamborghini Portofino, with the chassis of a Lamborghini Jalpa, built by Sergio Coggiola in Turin and shown at the 1987 Frankfurt Motor Show. The soft, curved styling ran against the wedge fashion of the time. The Portofino was received as a design triumph and set in motion Chrysler’s decision to build a production sedan with its “cab forward” layout, with the wheels pushed to the corners to create a much larger passenger cabin.
Chassis design began in the late 1980s after Chrysler bought American Motors. The first proposals resembled a replacement for the Dodge Dynasty, but this approach was scrapped in 1988 by François Castaing, the former AMC engineering vice president, who organised Chrysler into AMC-style cross-functional teams and started the new car from the Eagle Premier platform. The Premier’s longitudinal engine mounting, front suspension geometry and parts of the braking system were inherited, and the architecture became flexible enough for front- or rear-wheel drive, designated LH and LX. The transmission borrowed from Chrysler’s A604 Ultradrive and became the A606, also known as the 42LE. The initial 3.3-litre pushrod V6 was joined in 1990 by a 3.5-litre SOHC engine with four valves per cylinder; for the second-generation Intrepid R/T the block was recast in aluminium.
The first generation debuted at the 1992 North American International Auto Show 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 Intrepids had driver and front passenger airbags, rare at the time, as well as air conditioning and a four-speed automatic, with anti-lock brakes, traction control and the 214 hp 3.5-litre V6 on the options list. The launch marked a new image for Dodge, which marketed itself as “The New Dodge” with a campaign featuring actor Edward Herrmann.
Changes were few over the first five years. A variable-assist power steering rack arrived for 1994 and the touring suspension became standard on the base model; anti-lock brakes became standard on the ES in 1995; and in 1996 the automatic gained a manual shift function called AutoStick, inherited from the Eagle Vision TSi and the first transmission of its kind in a mainstream car. For 1995 Chrysler added the previous Dodge Ram logo. The Intrepid was built at Brampton in Ontario, a plant originally set up for the Eagle Premier, and at Newark, Delaware, and it was often compared with the Chevrolet Lumina and Ford Taurus. In Canada it was sold as the Chrysler Intrepid, and in the United States it replaced the Dodge Monaco as Dodge’s largest passenger car. The LH cars were redesigned for 1998, with the second-generation Intrepid designed by Robert Boniface and taking 31 months from design freeze to production.
Design and features
- Cab-forward design: wheels at the corners and a large cabin, from the 1987 Portofino concept.
- LH platform: shared with the Chrysler Concorde, LHS, 300M and Eagle Vision.
- 3.5-litre V6: a 214 hp four-valve SOHC engine optional from launch.
- AutoStick: a manual shift mode for the automatic, a first in a mainstream car.
Dodge Intrepid versions
- Base: the standard Intrepid with the 3.3-litre V6.
- ES: the sportier trim with disc brakes and uprated suspension.
- Second generation (1998-2004): the redesigned LH car.
- Chrysler Intrepid: the Canadian version of the same car.
The Intrepid replaced the Dodge Dynasty and Dodge Monaco as Dodge’s largest sedan, and it was later replaced by the four-door Charger. More Dodge models are in the Dodge collection.
Sources
- Dodge Intrepid, English Wikipedia: design origins, LH platform, engines, model years
