RARER THAN RARE – THE CHRYSLER ALPINE

Some Cars of the Year have the misfortune of vanishing from public consciousness. Few seem to recall that the Chrysler Alpine defeated the BMW 3 Series and the Renault 30TS to become COTY 1976. In 1979, Autocar wrote: “The Chrysler Alpine is more than just a well-planned and versatile model. It is not going too far to suggest that it might also have been the saviour of Chrysler UK Ltd.”

Today, the 1979 GL sold by https://www.stonecoldclassics.com/ is one of only 12 Alpines believed to remain on the road. To look at its Roy Axe-styled bodywork is to be reminded of how different the Alpine seemed compared to other medium-sized British cars of the late 1970s. Chrysler UK modestly claimed:

You don't need to take a long look at the Chrysler Alpine to realise what a poor shape most other family cars are in. From back to front, and vice-versa, the Chrysler Alpine is sleek and stylish, and yet so capacious with it.

In other words, the Alpine had five doors, and the only other front-wheel-drive British rival in that regard was the Austin Maxi, which dated back to 1969. Ten years later, an Alpine GL cost £3,637, while a Maxi 1500 was £3,462, but a Chrysler dealer could highlight the more contemporary lines and the electronic ignition. The latter was a genuine sales feature in the late 1970s.

Chrysler Europe began Project C6, the joint replacement for the Simca 1301/1501 and the Hillman Hunter, in 1972. Their limited budget meant Chrysler using the familiar 1,294cc or 1,442 units and a floor pan adapted from the Simca 1100. The Chrysler-Simca 1307/1308 debuted in October 1975 at the Paris Motor Show.

Meanwhile, the C6 also starred in the London Motor Show as the Chrysler Alpine. The GL was the entry-level model, with the smaller engine, and originally lacked halogen headlamps, a tachometer, a clock, a folding rear armrest and rear heater vents. Such luxuries were the province of the S version. The dealer training film (which looks as though Alan Partridge directed it) boasted: “On looks alone, the Chrysler Alpine will knock the opposition for six”:

None other than L.J.K. Setright told readers of Car that the Alpine was “really rather a good machine, restoring Chrysler to a competitive place in what has been described as the ‘upper middle-class market’ in Europe”. What the great writer disliked was the engine noise – its “only major shortcoming”. Meanwhile, Thames TV’s Drive In regarded it as ‘the best Chrysler product yet’:

Yet, despite its promise, the Alpine did not fulfil Chrysler UK’s expectations. Engine noise was one issue, although certain Ford and British Leyland power plants were hardly the last word in refinement. A further issue was the company’s highly publicised financial situation: Chrysler’s UK operations lost £15.9 million in the first six months of 1975.

Consequently, the head office in the United States threatened to close their UK division, potentially resulting in the loss of 25,000 jobs and £100 million worth of exports. After extensive negotiations, the Government responded with a loan of £162 million in December 1975, which allowed the Alpine to be made in this country. This was not the ideal scenario for launching an important new model.

The third major problem was that 45 years ago, the UK’s fleet buyers preferred the safer world of RWD “three-box” saloons: the Ford Cortina Mk. IV, the Morris Marina and the Vauxhall Cavalier. From 1976 to 1979, Chrysler UK imported the ageing Hunter from Ireland as a more conventional alternative to the Alpine, but its impact on the company car market was minimal.

Behind the scenes, Chrysler sold its European operations to Peugeot in 1978, and in the following year they rebranded the line-ups as Talbots. This GL is one of the last to wear the Pentastar badge and is a reminder of a time when brown was the “in” shade for suburbia, from hostess tea trolleys to three-piece suites.

Not forgetting the brown Chrysler that represented “a new way of thinking”.

With thanks to Stone Cold Classics for their time and permission to use the images in this blog.