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Another Great Concept Car: The Chrysler Atlantic

Concept cars are design experiments and most of them never go past the concept stage. Many of them end up being forgotten (Remember the Renault Racoon or the GMC Centaur? Probably not), but every once in a while there is a notable one that turns heads and gets major worldwide attention.

At Fix Auto San Francisco - Potrero Avenue, we love seeing the newest and cutting-edge car designs that come our way every year at all of the big car shows. So, here is some interesting information for our readers in San Francisco, CA about the renowned Chrysler Atlantic, which was a retro concept vehicle created by Chrysler.

It was unveiled in 1995, designed by Bob Hubbach and inspired by the world-class Bugatti Atlantique. The idea behind this breathtaking vehicle began out as a very rudimentary sketch on a napkin drawn by Chrysler's President Bob Lutz in early 1993, with some help from the carmaker's Chief Designer at the time, Tom Gale.

The Atlantic has several similarities to the luxurious vehicles of the 1930s, like  the aforementioned Bugatti Type 57S Atlantique. The vehicle's styling makes it  more like the less popular Talbot-Lago T150 SS Coupe that was made back in 1938. The Atlantic borrowed the Talbot-Lago's side windows and its signature curved boot.

Many of the other notable retro details featured in the Atlantic include a straight-8-engine that was in fact constructed from two 4-cylinder Dodge Neon engines featuring an S configuration 4.0 L., which is hardly ever used in today's modern vehicles. Other retro touches to the vehicle's look include the interior with its classic Art Deco-style gauges.

The Atlantic Concept has got some power and size and that's why it received some early buzz when it first appeared. It features 360 horsepower and uses Chrysler's AutoStick transmission. Riding on a 128-inch wheelbase, its front wheels measure 21" and 22" in the rear, which was considered large at that time.

The Atlantic was one of Chrysler's most well-liked concept vehicles and has proven to be popular enough to still make the intermittent public appearance. It most recently appeared in Chicago and in 2008 he traveled all the way to Japan for the Tokyo Auto Show.

One of the most important things about the Atlantic is the fact that many of its design features are currently being used in both advertising and packaging of automotive car care products, a wide range of accessories and electronics, just to name a few.

Sources: Japolik, Wikipedia and AutoHistory.org