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One of Chrysler’s more unusual show cars was mentioned at the July club meeting, the Cordoba de Oro.
Chrysler has displayed several show cars over the years. In 1970 Chrysler showed a very wedge-shaped car, the Cordoba de Oro. It was styled by Elwood Engel and featured a cantilevered roof with no A-pillars. In this fashion, it harked back to the Norseman of 1956, which also featured a cantilevered roof. The Norseman was a Virgil Exner creation, Engel’s predecessor as styling chief at Chrysler.
The Cordoba de Oro had unusual features with a thermostatically controlled air intake and experimental headlights. It was built on the standard Chrysler wheelbase of 124 inches. The production 1975 Chrysler Cordoba was quite a different car, an intermediate with a 115-inch wheelbase.
The Norseman was built by Ghia in Italy, who had a long association with Chrysler that was only terminated when Ford purchased Ghia. Exner had wanted to do rollover tests on the car, but it suffered a much more dramatic fate. It was shipped on the Italian liner, Andria Doria. That liner collided with a freighter off the coast of Long Island and took the Norseman to the floor of the Atlantic. Unfortunately, the Norseman never made it across the Atlantic. This must be one of the most bizarre ends for an experimental car.
Source: John G Huntington - www.cavoa.com
Images: Chrysler; www.chicagoautoshow.com; www.v8buick.com; Revs Institute Archives
