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Chrysler Newport
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The Newport was a name used by the Chrysler division of the Chrysler Corporation used as both a hardtop body designation and also for its entry level model between 1961 and 1981. Chrysler first used the Newport name on a 1940 showcar of which five vehicles were produced.
first Newport, known as the Chrysler Newport Phaeton, was produced from 1940 to 1941, and was a low-production dual-cowl phaeton that used an straight-8 engine coupled to a 3-speed manual transmission.
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Encyclopedia
The Newport was a name used by the Chrysler division of the Chrysler Corporation used as both a hardtop body designation and also for its entry level model between 1961 and 1981. Chrysler first used the Newport name on a 1940 showcar of which five vehicles were produced.
1940s
The first Newport, known as the Chrysler Newport Phaeton, was produced from 1940 to 1941, and was a low-production dual-cowl phaeton that used an straight-8 engine coupled to a 3-speed manual transmission. The Newport was based upon the Chrysler New Yorker of the time, and designed by Chrysler designer Ralph Roberts. Only 5 were built. Actress Lana Turner owned a Newport Phaeton, as did Chrysler founder Walter P. Chrysler, who used it as a personal car.
The Newport Phaeton served as the pace car for the 1941 Indianapolis 500 race.
1950s
The Newport name was used in the 1950s to designate the 2-door hardtop body style in Chrysler's lineup. Each Chrysler series, the Windsor, Saratoga and the New Yorker received a hardtop Newport model. The redesigned 1949 Chrysler Town and Country was first proposed as a hardtop, however the body style only appeared in the model's final year in 1950.
1961–1964
Chrysler revived the Newport name for their new, full-size entry-level model for 1961. At a base price of US$2,964, the Newport was intended to fill the price gap between Chrysler and Dodge that was created when DeSoto was discontinued. While the Newport was very successful and comprised the bulk of Chrysler production, the base Newport sedans were detrimmed versions of Chrysler's traditional upmarket models, featuring hubcaps instead of full-wheel covers, plain interiors and a minimal amount of exterior trim. The perception of an inexpensive Chrysler hurt the marque in the long run by cheapening the brand's cachet.
In 1961, the Newport was available as a 2-door convertible, 2-door hardtop, 4-door sedan, 4-door hardtop and 4-door station wagon. The base engine for the Newport was the 361 in³ V8 engine rated at 265 hp, although most were equipped with the 383 in³ V8. 1962 Chryslers continued to use the 1961 body, but were shorn of their trademark fins.
The Newport was restyled alongside the New Yorker and Chrysler 300 for 1963, with this body style continuing for 1964.
Sometimes known as the "lost years", 1963 and 1964 Chryslers were the result of instabilities within the design team. And although the 1963 model was a restyle, complete with shorn fins, 1964 saw the return of small, chrome-topped fins.
1965–1968
For 1965, the Newport was redesigned on the then-new Chrysler C platform. Also for 1965, the Newport station wagon was renamed the Chrysler Town and Country.
1969–1978
The Newport was redesigned again for 1969, and featured the "Fuselage Styling" that would become symbolic of Chrysler's full-size cars until the end of the 1973 model year. Newport convertibles were discontinued after 1970. Production of the C-body Newport ended in 1978 along with the Chrysler New Yorker. Related Dodge and Plymouth C-body cars had been dropped the previous year. The 1978 Newport offered the American car industry's last true two-door and four-door hardtops.
1979–1981
In 1979, a new downsized Newport appeared on the Chrysler R platform, a derivative of the circa 1962 Chrysler B platform. This reduced model availability to a single "pillared hardtop" 4-door sedan. Whereas GM and Ford had downsized their big cars largely by taking an axe and chopping them down to size, Chrysler took a different approach. The idea was to improve fuel efficiency by reducing weight, but to retain as much of the traditional full-size look and feel as possible. This creative approach produced an attractive car, though some of the weight-saving measures proved to be more trouble than they were worth. Examples include plastic brake wheel-cylinder pistons, which tended to swell and bind up the brakes after a couple years in service. Chrome-plated aluminum bumpers were another innovation, but were replaced in 1980 with a "new, stronger steel rear bumper" due to apparently inadequate strength.
Initial 1979 sales were strong, but Chrysler's unsteady financial condition, combined with tightening oil and gasoline supplies hurt sales of the redesigned vehicle, and all of the R-body models were discontinued after a short run of 1981 models, as Chrysler began its shift toward smaller front-wheel drive cars.
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