This is a marque which will celebrate its centenary next year with only a single model on sale in its showrooms, showing up as the Pacifica and its numerous variants. Suits in corner offices seek to right this detail with an electric vehicle they will unveil early next week.
And, no, it’s not likely to be the Airflow – at least not the concept car which was looking all but production-ready over two years ago. It is alleged by some in the industry that certain company leaders wanted a do-over with that model, meaning the vehicle set to drop next Tuesday may not look anything like the handsome show car. There’s every chance in the world it will likely carry a fresh name, as well.
The hero shot at the top of this post doesn’t give us much to go on, though two more photos are promised before the car itself shows up next week. Yes, that means there will be a trio of teasers for a concept car which, by definition, is itself a teaser. Few companies play that particular game like Stellantis, it must be said. Hedging its own bets, Chrysler is calling the concept reveal an “advance look at one potential path” to the brand’s all-electric future.
That’s a heckuva lot of wiggle room for what’s actually in the pipeline. Saul Goodman would be proud. Nevertheless, one of the STLA platforms will surely underpin the forthcoming concept car, though we’d be pleasantly surprised if Chrysler engineers spill any beans about battery size or total driving range at this stage in the car’s development. One can hope. Same goes for the likes of horsepower stats and the like.
After sunsetting the burly 300 sedan, Chrysler showrooms could use an infusion of new product, though it has been some spell since there were any more than three different things on sale at at any one time (200, 300, and minivan variants).
Reaching back a bit further to just the late 2000s in the waning days of Cerberus, we find a variety of products including the Crossfire and PT Cruiser plus the Pacifica when it was a crossover and a Durango-based Aspen SUV. Buyers with families could choose the 300 or Sebring, not to mention the (then) ubiquitous minivans.
[Image: Stellantis]
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