From RM Auctions: 143 hp, 324 cu. in. “Spitfire” inline eight-cylinder engine with dual carburetors, three-speed Fluid Drive semi-automatic transmission and overdrive, independent front suspension with coil springs, live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes. Wheelbase: 127.5"

- Equipped with its original “Spitfire” inline eight-cylinder engine
- The recipient of a 10,000-hour, concours-quality restoration that was completed in 2009 by Chris Kidd’s Tired Iron Works
- Arguably the most significant Chrysler available on the market today and the only Thunderbolt to be offered in the near future
- Awarded “First in Class” and a perfect 100-point score at the 2010 Newport Beach Concours d’Elegance
- The recipient of the Camille Jenatzy Award for the Car with the Most Audacious Exterior at the 2009 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance
- Award-winner at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

Chrysler produced many outstanding designs in its prewar history – clean, refined automobiles that captured the essence of quality, elegance and craftsmanship. Their inherent attraction, however, came not from the concepts of a talented artist like Harley Earl, or even the inspiration of Edsel Ford, but rather from the subjective appeal of strongly engineered, highly functional automobiles that were complemented by their understated artistic influence.

Prior to the 1930s, Chrysler’s Art & Color Division had been part of the Engineering department. By 1935, however, Ray Dietrich became the first official Chrysler stylist and was charged with restyling the ill-fated Airflow and adding the less radical, more attractive Airstream line. As a result of the Airflow debacle, Chrysler products in the late 1930s continued to offer competent and pleasing but much less radical designs.

Walter P. Chrysler might have preferred a return to his corporation’s trendsetting design philosophy, integrating advanced engineering with appropriate coachwork, but unfortunately, the health of the man who created the second-largest automaker in the world was rapidly declining. After years of service and a business acumen that helped his corporation survive the Depression, Mr. Chrysler resigned in 1938, passing away less than two years later. The corporation restructured and found a new leader in K.T. Keller, who had been its President since 1935. Keller acutely recognized Chrysler’s need for increased exposure to draw prospective customers.

In 1940, the business of building “show” or “concept” cars was still in its infancy. In fact, the showcasing of potential future styling and innovations was effectively pioneered just two years earlier by Harley Earl with his groundbreaking Buick Y-Job. Given its success, it did not take long for other automobile manufacturers to recognize the need to follow Earl’s and GM’s lead. By the start of World War II, Ford was the only company not producing any “idea cars.”

The Thunderbolt

The Thunderbolt concept was born of a thoughtful pitch in 1939 by Alex Tremulis to Ralph Roberts at LeBaron. At the time, Tremulis was a promising young designer at Briggs Manufacturing, LeBaron’s parent company, who later went on to help design the short-lived but legendary Tucker Torpedo. Roberts was so impressed with the proposal that he organized a meeting with K.T. Keller and Chrysler division president Dave Wallace to discuss the possibility of creating two all-new dream cars.

Keller and Wallace approved the project, and both Roberts and Tremulis took full advantage of their new-found opportunity. By the late 1930s, the market for custom coachwork had largely evaporated, hit hard by the Depression and the efforts of corporate stylists like GM’s Harley Earl and Ford’s E.T. “Bob” Gregorie. Consequently, LeBaron was left with little work. The Thunderbolt and Newport, on the other hand, became two of LeBaron’s most interesting and final endeavors, as the onset of full-scale American involvement in World War II