Photo: Instagram | Jlord8
Up until not that many years ago, Americans, as well as customers living abroad, used to turn to wagons and minivans whenever they needed family cars, with big trunks. However, as everyone and their neighbor knows, crossovers have almost buried them.
While the long-roof, low-riding models are a dying breed, on the left side of the pond anyway, Jlord8 on Instagram has reminded us about a classic one, which used to bear Chrysler’s signature. The vehicle in question is a LeBaron, more specifically a first-generation, which used to come to life between 1977 and 1981 in Missouri, and Delaware, and also in Mexico, Venezuela, and Chile.
Its design is typical for that era, as it features a rather long hood, with a straight face, a roofline that doesn’t want to trick the innocent into thinking they’re looking at a ‘coupe,’ roof rails, decent space inside, and a generous cargo area. As far as the powertrains are concerned, the Chrysler LeBaron came with a 225, a 318, and a 360, hooked up to a three-speed automatic transmission.
As a result, it was definitely nothing to write home about in terms of performance, but while the original wasn’t, this reinterpretation is. It’s been brought back to life using the Hellcat moniker, and we all know what that means, don’t we? A whining 6.2-liter V8 engine under the hood, which is normally capable of pushing out in excess 700 horsepower, or even more than 800 hp, directed to the wheels via a modern-day auto ‘box.
Its straight-line performance would have probably been considered out of this world more than 40 years ago, and realistically speaking, a real car in this configuration could likely complete the quarter-mile sprint in a little over 10 seconds. And it certainly has the grunt to match the looks, as, besides the crazy lump, it features a widebody conversion, rides on Hellcat wheels, sports beefed-up brakes, and several other mods. But the question is, do you dig it?
Its design is typical for that era, as it features a rather long hood, with a straight face, a roofline that doesn’t want to trick the innocent into thinking they’re looking at a ‘coupe,’ roof rails, decent space inside, and a generous cargo area. As far as the powertrains are concerned, the Chrysler LeBaron came with a 225, a 318, and a 360, hooked up to a three-speed automatic transmission.
As a result, it was definitely nothing to write home about in terms of performance, but while the original wasn’t, this reinterpretation is. It’s been brought back to life using the Hellcat moniker, and we all know what that means, don’t we? A whining 6.2-liter V8 engine under the hood, which is normally capable of pushing out in excess 700 horsepower, or even more than 800 hp, directed to the wheels via a modern-day auto ‘box.
Its straight-line performance would have probably been considered out of this world more than 40 years ago, and realistically speaking, a real car in this configuration could likely complete the quarter-mile sprint in a little over 10 seconds. And it certainly has the grunt to match the looks, as, besides the crazy lump, it features a widebody conversion, rides on Hellcat wheels, sports beefed-up brakes, and several other mods. But the question is, do you dig it?
Google News