CarBrandLogos archive · Chrysler · 1924

ChryslerChrysler Six

Barred from the New York show, so Chrysler parked it in a hotel lobby instead.

Photo: HombreDHojalata · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Chrysler history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Chrysler Six, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Walter P. Chrysler had rebuilt Buick, walked out of General Motors, and been hired to rescue the failing Maxwell Motor Company. He brought with him three engineers — Fred Zeder, Owen Skelton and Carl Breer — and had them design a car good enough to justify a new company name.

1935 Chrysler Airstream Coupe · Brknott · CC BY-SA 3.0

Design and engineering

The Chrysler Six, launched in January 1924, was startling for its price. It had a high-compression seven-bearing L-head six that produced far more power per cubic inch than its rivals, four-wheel hydraulic brakes at a time when most cars still had mechanical brakes on the rear axle only, an oil filter, an air cleaner and full pressure lubrication. It would exceed 70mph, which put it in the company of cars costing twice as much.

Chrysler Model CA Roadster 1934 · order_242 from Chile · CC BY-SA 2.0

In production

It nearly went unseen. The organisers of the New York Automobile Show refused the car a stand because Chrysler was not yet an established manufacturer, so Chrysler displayed it in the lobby of the Commodore Hotel next door, where the show's attendees walked past it anyway. The order book filled, the first year's production sold out, and Maxwell was reorganised as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925.

1926 Chrysler G-70 Roadster · Sicnag · CC BY 2.0

Legacy

The Six ran in various forms until 1936, by which point Chrysler had bought Dodge, launched Plymouth and DeSoto, and become one of America's three largest car makers — all of it built on a single well-engineered car.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1924–1936

Engine

180.2 CID Chrysler I6 (1927–1929)

Body

2-door coupe

Technical specification

The Chrysler Six, in detail.

Production: 1924–1936
Class: full-size car
Body style: 2-door coupe; 2-door brougham; 2-door coach; 2-door roadster; 4-door sedan; 4-door Phaeton; 4-door Town Car; 4-door Crown Imperial Sedan
Engine: 180.2 CID Chrysler I6 (1927–1929); 201 CID Chrysler I6 (1924–1925); 218.6 CID Chrysler I6 (1926); 248.9 CID Chrysler I6 (1928–1929); 268.4 CID Chrysler I6 (1930); 241.5 CID Chrysler I6 (1935 C-6 & 1936 C-7); Airstream; 2
Transmission: 3-speed manual transmission
Assembly: Highland Park Chrysler Plant, Highland Park, Michigan; Jefferson Avenue Assembly; Detroit, Michigan
Manufacturer: Chrysler