Tag Archives: Newport

Hemispherical FirePower – Chrysler New Yorker Deluxe Newport

The advantages of a hemispherical cylinder head are that it makes an efficient combustion chamber with minimal heat loss to the cylinder head, however there are numerous difficulties to be overcome to make such a head reliable and commercially viable due to the complexity of the cross flow valve gear, the need for domed piston crowns to attain the necessary compression ratio and the need for high octane fuel to prevent inefficient and destructive detonation in the combustion chamber.

Chrysler engineers began developing hemispherical combustion chambers in 1940 for an inverted V16 that powered a prototype for the P.47H Tunderbolt and was considered for the XP.60C, but the motor was so delayed it never went into production.

Later Chrysler also worked on a hemi head design with Continental for the 810hp Continental AV-1790-5B V12, air-cooled twin-turbo gasoline engine that powered the M47 Patton Tank which was manufactured from 1951 to 1953.

Chrysler New Yorker, Palo Alto Concours d'Elegance

In 1951 Chrysler introduced it’s first FirePower V8’s with hemispherical heads on the New Yorker and Imperial models and as an option for the Saratoga.

Bill Sterling and Robert H. Sandidge drove a Hemi powered Saratoga to a third place finish in the 1951 Carrera Panamericana finishing behind two Ferrari 212 Inters, less than 16 mins behind the winning car driven by Piero Taruffi and Luigi Chinetti.

Similarly Belgian Paul Frére drove Hemi powered Saratogas’s to class wins at the Mille Miglia and Spa 24 Hour races, Lee Petty won the first of his three NASCAR titles in 1954 scoring seven victories in Hemi powered Chryslers and Dodges.

Chrysler New Yorker, Palo Alto Concours d'Elegance

The grill on today’s featured car suggests that it is a Chrysler New Yorker Deluxe Newport built for the 1954 model year which was fitted with a 235 hp version of the Hemi that was good for a theoretical top speed of 97 mph.

New Yorkers appeared on the Carrera Panamericana in 1951,’52 and ’53 but were not as successful as the Saratoga, Reginald McFee scored the models best result a 12th place finish in 1952.

Today’s featured New Yorker was driven on the 2011 Carrera Panamericana by David Buchanan and New York auto engineer Raffi Najjarian dropping out on day 2, I believe they finished third in class with the same car in the 2015 edition of the event.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photographs taken at Palo Alto Concours d’Elegance in 2011.

Thanks for joining me on this “Hemispherical FirePower” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Big Mean ‘n’ Green – Chrysler Newport Sedan

Looking from the European side of the Atlantic it sometimes appears that Detroit was selling cars by the acre, I am sure I have seen folks maintaining allotments that are smaller than the footprint of the 1969 Chrysler Newport which was marketed with the strap line ‘The attainable dream‘.

Chrysler Newport, Mercedes Benz World

The fifth generation Newport with ‘fuselage’ styling sits on a 124 inch wheel base with bodywork that is longer, lower wider and several hundred pounds heavier than it’s predecessors.

Chrysler Newport, Mercedes Benz World

To set nearly 2 tons of sheet metal in motion five engine options were available from 255hp 5.9 litre 360 cui V8 through to 335 hp 7.2 litre 440 cui.

Chrysler Newport, Mercedes Benz World

Body style options in included 2 door convertible, 2 or 4 door hardtop and 4 door sedan, the 5 door estate version was sold as a seperate Town & Country model.

Chrysler Newport, Mercedes Benz World

The Newport shared almost identical bodies with the Chrylser 300, New Yorker and Imperial but differences in trim made the Newport a cheapest option at US$3,414.

Chrysler Newport, Mercedes Benz World

The fifth generation Newport marked a zenith in the size of full size Chyslers the fuel crises of the early 70’s meant manufacturers would emphasise downsizing as a selling point from the mid seventies to the early 1980’s the Newport range was dropped completely in 1981.

Chrysler Newport, Mercedes Benz World

The four door sedan like the 1969 model seen here, bearing the Big Mean ‘n’ Green legend on it’s registration plates was the most popular of Newport range with 55,000 units sold in 1969.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Big Green ‘n’ Mean’ edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’ I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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